From the Inside
by chatterbox-hikaru13
Summary: Lantis, Ferio and Ascot found a way to go to Earth, but look who's missingHikaru. [COMPLETE]
1. Chapter 1: A Nasty Curse

**FROM THE INSIDE**

**AN:** THIS IS AN AU/REEINCARNATION FIC, WITH LOTS OF ROMANCE. HIKARU HAS AMNESIA, AND FORGOT ALL ABOUT CEPHIRO AND LANTIS AND UMI AND FUU. BUT THE OTHERS STILL REMEMBERS, AND LANTIS, FERIO AND ASCOT CAME TO EARTH TO BE WITH THEIR LOVES, BUT UNFORTUNATELY HIKARU CAN'T BE FOUND…WELL…IF I SAY ANY MORE THE STORY WILL BE SPOILED!!! SO JUST ENJOY!!!

**DISCLAIMER: **MKR belongs to CLAMP. I'm just borrowing it for some entertainment indulgence and personal reasons. The plot, however, is mine. That's all I own. Oh, and a couple of bucks on my wallet that I hope would last until…January. I'm broke! Somebody please lend me money!!! Please be kind!!!

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**Chapter 1: A NASTY CURSE **

"Bring in the IV Tubes, the respirator and the ECG!" the resident doctor barked orders to the nurses, and two scampered to get the needed equipments. The other two attended to the patient who lay on the operating table, with a face indistinguishable due to the blood that covered her face and her whole body. The only noticeable feature on the patient was her long, braided red hair.

A man with brown hair paced along the corridors of the hospital, his face contorted with great worry. "What have I done? What have I done?" he muttered all over again to himself. A woman, her long black hair in disarray, sat at one of the hospital benches, her legs bouncing up and down, her eyes looking nervously at the man.

"Saeki, onegai, stop pacing around. You're making me more nervous!" she exclaimed. The man, Saeki, sat beside the woman, and buried his face on his hands.

"I'm worried for the girl, Reka, she might not make it. This was my entire fault! If I had my eyes on the road, I wouldn't have run into her!" he answered.

"If I hadn't been arguing with you, you would have kept your attention on the road! So don't blame your self! Because I have my share of fault too!" she snapped. Saeki turned tired eyes to his girlfriend, cupping her hands to his,

"I promise to Kami-sama, that once that girl I hit survive, I'll marry you, Reka," he said with tears in his eyes.

Reka nodded, and then she squeezed her boyfriend's hand for reassurance, "Everything will be all right, you'll see. She'll be all right," she said.

A nurse came to them. "Uhm, Kijiwara-san, we already found identification cards on her bag, and we saw a number on her ID, and we thought that it is her phone number. But we thought that maybe you want to talk to the family on the phone, to explain to them what happened," the nurse said, bowing at them.

Saeki stood and nodded, "Onegai. Arigatou gozaimasou, Nurse-san," he said, and then strolled over to the Information Counter. He got the lady's wallet and opened it. Her picture instantly caught his eye, and he felt heaviness in his heart.

Even on the picture, this young lady showed liveliness, contrary to the limp body that he and his girlfriend rushed here at Kôfu General Hospital. Taking a deep breath, he turned the ID around and found a contact number at the back. He got the phone from the nurse and dialed the number. After a few seconds, somebody answered

"Moshi moshi!" a man answered. Saeki drew his breath and asked in a trembling voice,

Moshi moshi? Is this…" he looked down at the ID," Shidou Hikaru's brother?" he asked.

Hai, this is her older brother, Satoru. What can I do for you?" the man answered on the other end of the line. Saeki closed his eyes to keep the tears from escaping.

"This is Kijiwara Saeki, and I'm calling from Kôfu General hospital--and I hate to say this but just this afternoon, I ran into her--in my car, and she's…being treated here at this hospital," he said, mustering all the strength in his body to break a news like this to the family.

The other end of the line went silent, and he thought that the brother already hung up, but then he heard a raspy voice.

"Whe-where is she again?" he asked shakily.

"Kôfu General Hospital," Saeki answered.

"All right. We will be there…in less than an hour. Please, wait for us," Satoru decided, finally able to control his voice, "Oh, by the way, what is your name again?" Satoru asked.

"Saeki. Kijiwara Saeki. We'll be at the Emergency Room, and will probably be staying here until Hikaru's condition is finally out of danger," Saeki answered.

"Arigatou gozaimasou, Saeki-san, and don't worry about Hikaru, my sister's a fighter. We'll be there in an hour, so please wait for us," Satoru thanked him, and the line went dead.

* * *

"Please tell us where Shidou Hikaru is," Kakeru demanded, rushing to the Information Counter of the Kôfu General Hospital with a panicked expression. His eyes were sunken, showing the tension he felt upon learning of Hikaru's condition from his oldest brother.

"She's still at the ICU Sir," the nurse politely answered, smiling sympathetically at him.

He smiled back, and then rushed to the ICU. Behind him, his family rushed as well, anxious to know what happened to their little girl.

They saw a brown-haired man standing outside the ICU, with a dark-haired, pretty woman standing beside him. Satoru immediately approached the couple and looked inside the ICU.

"Saeki-san?" he asked.

Saeki turned around, and saw the family behind him. Tears appeared again in his eyes, and he bowed down at the Shidou family, immediately recognizing them.

"Shidou family, pleased to meet you. I'm Kijiwara Saeki, the one who-" he cut off.

Shidou Haido bowed down as well; his sons and wife following suit. "There's no need to apologize, Saeki-san. It is an accident; it cannot be prevented," he answered, offering the distraught man a little smile despite the fact that his one and only daughter is in danger.

"I'm Haido, and this is my wife Hajime," he continued, and pointed at his wife, then at his sons, "The tallest is Satoru, the one that you talked on the phone, the one on blue shirt is Masaru, and the one on gray is Kakeru, all older than Hikaru, my daughter," he finished.

"Saeki-san, did the doctor finally told you about Hikaru's condition? Is she going to be all right? And why is she in the ICU and not in a room?" Masaru asked even before his mother or brothers can.

Saeki shook his head. "No. The doctor wished to talk to you, her family, about it and not me. He only assured me that she's out of danger by now and the reason she's in the ICU is that she will be examined until she wakes up," he answered.

Haido was about to ask another question, but a footstep stopped him.

"I believe that you are the Shidou family?" a kind voice called out from behind. They all turned around and saw a middle-aged man in white coat, a stethoscope on his neck.

"Hai," Haido answered, approaching the doctor and bowing down at him. The doctor did the same and opened the door of the ICU, and the family followed, with Saeki and Reka behind.

"My name is Dr. Nakayumi Hirohito, and I'm happy to tell you that Hikaru's condition has finally stabilized and she's finally out of danger," he started.

"But…" Satoru interjected, his face grim.

Dr. Nakayumi turned to them and sighed, "But she received a fairly strong blow on her head, and an internal hemorrhage almost took her life. But we were able to stop it and as I said earlier, she's already out of trouble. However, she might have a case of amnesia due to the blow, and that clearly shows on the CT Scan on her brain we did a few minutes ago," he continued, sighing.

"Amnesia?" Hajime repeated, clutching her husband's arm. Haido patted her hand, but the erratic beating of her heart didn't slowed down.

"Yes. Amnesia. We are yet to establish if this is mild or what, and that will be determined once she has woken up," Dr. Nakayumi answered.

"Amnesia…my baby girl will have an amnesia?!" Kakeru silently wept, and he and Masaru looked at Hikaru's sleeping figure with tears in their eyes.

* * *

**AN: **Ehh…how was that? Corny? R/R please! flames are very much appreciated! And please, if you have any suggestions, please tell me! I know where this fic is headed, but a little or two suggestions wouldn't hurt. 


	2. Chapter 2: A New Chapter in Life

**AU:** Thanks for those who reviewed the first chapter. Here's the next one!

**DISCLAIMER:** MKR still isn't mine...too bad...

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**Chapter 2: A NEW CHAPTER OF LIFE**

"Umi-san! What classes are you going to handle?" Fuu asked, pushing her glasses back up. She and her best friend Ryuuzaki Umi were walking down the halls of Shikigoku College in Kawasaki District.

"English classes of the freshmen and sophomores. What about you?" Umi answered, glancing at her bespectacled best friend.

"Computer classes of the freshmen and sophomores," Fuu answered, smiling at her.

"That's great! We will still be able to see each other, 'ne? But what about those three guys? What classes are they going to handle?" Umi asked.

"Lantis will handle Arts and Architecture of Seniors, Ferio will be handling one PE class of each year levels, and I will be handling Math of junior and senior classes," a voice answered from behind, and then an arm went up to Umi and Fuu's shoulders respectively.

"Hello Ascot," Umi greeted, kissing her boyfriend at the cheek. Fuu did the same with Ferio.

"Good morning girls," all three boys greeted at the same time. Even Lantis offered a small smile before turning serious again.

"So, how's vacation?" Umi asked, addressing Lantis.

"Not much fun. Zagato and Emeraude toured France and Italy, while I stayed at Great Britain. I wanted to see my parents," Lantis answered. "What about you four? How was your vacation?" he asked, glancing at his four friends.

"Oh, not much as well. We just enjoyed the sun and the beach at Hawaii, and then we went shopping at New York and watched a few movies at L.A.: it was pretty routinary," Fuu answered, smiling up at the tall man.

Umi glanced slyly at him, then cleared her throat," Haven't found anybody new while on the road?" she asked meaningfully.

Lantis kept his gaze serious, but his eyes betrayed him. There was a wistful look on him, and the way that he looked at Umi confirmed the blue-haired's question even before he answered her. "No. And I don't think I will be able to find somebody new that I can replace to her," he replied, a note of wariness in his voice.

The others remained silent. It has been over nine years since the three guys went to Earth from Cephiro to be with the three Knights, but only Ferio and Ascot were successful in reconciliating with their love ones. Umi and Fuu haven't heard of Hikaru ever since they started high school. They could have come to her house, but they don't know where it is. The three knights planned to attend the same university in high school but they lost communication with the redhead. Now, after nine years, they still don't have a clue as to where Hikaru is. It's like…she just vanished into thin air and never came back again…or as if she was just some kind of a ghost, but that was pretty hard to believe because there were so many people, here on Earth and on Cephiro, who knew the courageous Fire Knight and has missed her terribly. In fact, Umi and Fuu happened to bump into one of Hikaru's friends, the one that was with Hikaru at Tokyo Tower and was there when the bright light came and Princess Emeraude's plea for help was heard. She said her name was Reina, and she told the two that she never saw Hikaru again after junior high.

"A week before graduation, Hikaru's eldest brother Shidou Satoru came to the school and asked the teachers if they could allow Hikaru to just graduate even without her presence on the Graduation Day. He asked if she could be excused from her remaining classes. And that was all I heard. The door was suddenly closed, and we never heard of it again. At the graduation ceremonies, her name was called, but this time it was her brother Kakeru that went up the stage and received the award for her. After thanking everybody for their kind treatment to Hikaru over the last three years of her middle school, he just went out of the gym, but not after personally thanking me, Sera, Farlena and Miyuki. Then he went away. And then…we just heard that the whole Shidou family moved somewhere up north, we're not sure if it was on Aomori, Akita or Morioka, maybe even up at Sapporo! We just suddenly…lost contact of Hikaru…and we never really got to find out what really happened to her. Even up to this date, we, her friends, were still wondering what could have happened to her, but I guess…that would remain a question until Hikaru returns and personally tell us what had happened to her," Reina had told them with a dejected tone and face.

After that, Umi and Fuu asked Reina where the Shidous formerly lived, and the girl was kind enough to bring them there. It was a spacious house, with an even bigger dojo at the side of the structure, and it was two-storey. And best of all, nobody lived there.

After surveying the place, looking for clues that could have helped in their search for the missing Hikaru, Umi and Fuu finally gave up and told themselves that someday, they will still be able to see Hikaru.

But now, after nine years, will they really still be able to see their little redhead best friend?

They all walked in silence towards the Faculty Room, the mood suddenly turned to melancholy. Ascot was the one who opened the door to the Room and the others looked around in awe. "Wow. Your brother really wanted to give us a good time while relaxing here at the Faculty, huh?" Ferio remarked, taking in the new air-conditioner at one corner of the massive room, a television set, a VCR, a component, a refrigerator and a computer. Even the walls are newly furnished, with new wallpaper.

Lantis just shrugged. "He said he wanted to thank all the teachers for making this school number one in the District. Said he wanted to pay back all the hard works and efforts of the Faculty Members, so he fixed the Faculty Room for you all," he supplied, looking around the room. Then his brow furrowed, and his eyes once again roamed around the room.

Noticing his frown, Umi and Fuu looked at him curiously. "What's the matter Lantis-san?" Fuu asked, concerned.

"There's an extra table here," he answered, turning attention back to his friends. Before they could react, the door to the Faculty pulled open, and the other faculty members entered in a stream, greeting them with a "Good morning" and a "How's your vacation?" inquiry, then they'd gasp at the great changes inside the room and then sit at their respective tables. The five looked at each other as well then went to their tables.

Ten minutes before the bell, the door opened again, and in came Likaura Zagato, the headmaster of Shikigoku College.

"Good morning, fellow teachers," he greeted in his reach baritone voice.

Everybody stood up from their seats and bowed down on him. Even the five couldn't help but respect the headmaster, although on their free time they joke around with Zagato and Emeraude at the former's private room.

"Good morning, Likaura-sama," the Faculty Teachers chorused, along with Lantis. But he shot a smile at his brother, which Zagato answered with a mild smile as well.

"I hope you had all a wonderful summer vacation, and have recharged for this year's school year, especially that we have accepted a total of 315 freshmen students," Zagato informed them, smiling at everyone.

"Wow! That's a whole lot of students! So far, headmaster, it is the biggest population for the freshmen that we have received in all five years of our operation!" Professor Mayamoto, the treasurer, butted in, excitement printed all over his face.

Zagato merely nodded, then turned to the door. "Perhaps I should introduce to you all the new Professor for Biology and General Science that I hired just last week. She came from Morioka, where she stayed for two years and taught at Iwate University. But just this summer, her family decided to move back here at Kawasaki after living in Northern Japan for more than nine years. And well, to welcome our new professor here at Shikigoku College--"

The door opened, and revealed a redhead, about 5"3' in height, dressed in red blouse and black slacks, and a beaming Emeraude behind her.

"Please welcome, Miss Shidou Hikaru," Zagato finished, looking pointedly at Lantis, Umi, Fuu, Ferio and Ascot, who in turn, had their eyes glued to the redhead, their mouths hanging open in complete shock.

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**AN:**_ I know that was stupid...this whole chapter is stupid. But please bear with me! I promise it'll get better! And sorry for the huge delay! I had a major writer's block, not to mention things had gone crazy at school. But...I'll be updating soon enough, so don't worry! _

_Also, gomen for the grammatical and spelling errors..._

_peace, man! _

(.)-(.)


	3. Chapter 3: Back in Town

**AN:** Before anything else, I want to take this opportunity to THANK SHINOMU for her (you're a girl...right!) wonderful reviews. Everytime I post a new chapter, Shinomu is always the first one to review it. And because of that, I want to thank her. To Shinomu, you rock, girl. It's reviewers like you who keeps writers like me to keep making our stories better and better.

Chapter 3 coming up! That was fast, ne? I wanted to make up for my four-month hiatus…hehehe…

**DISCLAIMER:** MKR still isn't mine…as much as I want it to be mine it isn't mine…huhuhu…

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**Chapter 3: Back in Town**

Zagato folded his hands on top of the table and waited as Lantis walked up on him and sat at a chair.

"That was…" Zagato glanced at his watch then turned back to Lantis, a smile on his face, "exactly twenty minutes after I introduced you to her. I didn't know your patience was that long, Lantis-kun," he said.

Lantis sighed, "I was surprised. You caught me off guard. Completely off guard. And that brings me here," he looked at his brother with disapproval in his eyes before continuing, "Why the secrecy? How come you didn't inform me of Hikaru's arrival in our school? And was that really Hikaru or is she just a look-alike?"

"I think she really is the Hikaru we knew of way back in Cephiro. I can still feel her fiery spirit and dedication that I sensed from the Fire Knight a long time ago. And not just the appearance, but she also has the same voice and, most importantly, the name. If she is a different person, her resemblance to the Hikaru we knew of was uncanny, not to mention too coincidental," Zagato answered.

Lantis nodded, "That's what we thought of too," then he sighed again and rubbed his temple, "But you still didn't answered me, Zagato. Why the secrecy? You know that isn't necessary. And don't tell me you wanted to surprise me. You know very well that you would have, and you did,"

"Because at the time, it was the smartest thing to do, not inform any of you about Hikaru's arrival at the college," Zagato answered. He then stood up and walked around the table until he was in front of Lantis, "Gomen for keeping it a secret, but Emeraude and I thought it would be better to keep it a secret,"

Lantis was about to answer back when the bell rang, indicating that it was already eight o' clock.

Zagato looked at the door and grinned at Lantis, "Your class starts at eight, I presume?"

"Yes," and Lantis stood up from the chair. Keeping his face and voice even, he addressed his brother one more time as he made his way to the door, "This isn't over yet, onii-chan, you know that," and with that, he walked out of the room.

Zagato was left smiling and shaking his head as he returned to his seat, "I know, Lantis-kun,"

* * *

"But I don't get it guys; why the heck does she not recognize us?" Ascot asked, looking around the group with concerned eyes.

Fuu sighed. Umi leaned her head on the wall. Ferio closed his eyes and Lantis stood up and looked out the window. The five were in Lantis' pad, a few blocks away from Zagato and Emeraude's haven.

"Don't you think it's very peculiar? The way that Hikaru doesn't know us? Not even you, Umi and Fuu, her very best friends in the whole world? How come it happened that way? And why?" Ascot insisted, now pacing across the room with his hands on his side.

Fuu shook her head. "I can't think of a single logical explanation for Hikaru-san's weird behavior, Ascot-san. Like you, I'm drawing blank. I can't…I can't think of a single thing to give justice to what Hikaru-san did," she answered tiredly, slumping down further on the couch. Ferio's arm came up around her shoulder, and she immediately smiled her thanks for her boyfriend.

Umi sighed loudly and closed her eyes; "I don't want to think of her reaction when I asked her if she doesn't remember us! Fuu…it is very painful to think that Hikaru forgot all about us!" she exclaimed. But even to her resistance, the train of thoughts just wouldn't stop as it played the scene in Umi's mind all over again…

_FLASHBACK_

"Please welcome, Shidou Hikaru!" Zagato welcomed.

Hikaru entered with a big grin plastered on her face, then bowed slightly at the Faculty Members. "Ohayou gozaimasou, minna-san, and konnichiwa!" she greeted enthusiastically.

From the corner of her eye, she saw her four friends dropped their jaws in surprise. Well, she was pretty shocked as well, and is pretty much as stunned as her friends. Lantis, especially, has that wild look in his face.

She heard Zagato introduce Hikaru to the 37 faculty members of the College. And then her redhead best friend was finally introduced to them five. And it pained her so much to see that her best friend…the now goddess of Cephiro…does not recognize them at all.

There was that patronizing look in Zagato and Emeraude's eyes, and she knew that those two were empathizing with them. After all, they looked for Hikaru for nine years. And now that they found her…she doesn't recognize them at all…

And after that, when everybody settled in on their table, she kept glancing and glancing at Hikaru who was arranging her things in her table. And then she noticed that Fuu, Lantis, Ascot and Ferio were staring at Hikaru as well, as if transfixed. And when the bell rang, she made no move to stand up. Her class does not start at 9 in the morning, and so are Fuu's, Lantis', Ferio's and Ascot's. And surprisingly, Hikaru remained seated on her place.

She stood up and strode over to where Hikaru is. She felt her friend's stares at her back. And the relief. Finally she will be breaking the silence inside the room!

"Uhurm! So, hello, Shidou-san, to Shikigoku College!" she greeted, plastering a huge smile on her face. She sat at the chair in front of Hikaru's desk, and propped her elbows up on the table. _Shidou-san! Where the hell did that come from!_ She silently grimaced.

Hikaru looked up at her with a sunny smile and her heart immediately melted, "Hello, Ryuuzaki-san! You _are_ Ryuuzaki-san, right? And please call me Hikaru. It's much less formal," the redhead answered.

"So Hikaru it is! And yes, I really _am_Ryuuzaki. But I'll only call you Hikaru if you call me Umi, Shidou-san," she answered playfully, smiling mischievously at the redhead.

Hikaru tipped back her head and laughed softly, her eyes sparkling with pleasure, "Okay! Umi it is! And, well, can I call you Umi-chan? Onegai?"

She found it hard to speak, so instead she nodded her head for affirmation. _The Hikaru I know of nine years ago insisted on calling Fuu and me with a –chan suffix…oh God, I miss Hikaru so much! _The redhead in front of her beamed, and clasped her hands together in front of her chest.

"I'm so happy Umi-chan! This whole big trip back to Tokyo…this is all so sudden to me! I thought we'd be permanently living in Morioka but then, 'Tousan decided to move here to Kawasaki," Hikaru said.

She looked up with a start. _This is my perfect chance!_ She thought. She cleared her throat again, and then she locked eyes with Hikaru, "Hikaru, do you, by any chance, recognize me? From the past, I mean? Like you know…do I look familiar to you?" she asked, almost hesitantly.

Hikaru blinked her eyes, surprised of the sudden question. Then she narrowed her eyes slightly, and looked at Umi's face closely, "Umi-chan…I swear…in all of my 24 years of existence, I know that I still haven't seen you," she answered, and then she peered into Umi's eyes critically. "Why are you asking me, Umi-chan? Do I look like someone you've known before?" she asked innocently.

She shook her head dejectedly, _what's happening to you, Hikaru? Why is that you don't remember us? What happened to you…?_ "No…gomen…it wasn't like that! You just…look familiar, that's all," she answered feebly.

Hikaru seemed convinced, as she beamed at her once again, "Oh, it's all right! People always mistake me for somebody else they knew! But it happened to me the most here in Kawasaki and Tokyo!"

She nodded, forcing a small smile on her face, "I guess it is. You're a pretty…familiar sight…" she trailed off.

Hikaru nodded as well, "Yeah. My friends told me as well,"

She stood up and dusted her dress, "Well, it was nice talking to you, Hikaru! Hope to hear from you soon!"

Hikaru stood up as well, and bowed at her, "The pleasure is all mine, Umi-chan. And thanks for approaching me! I greatly appreciate it!" the redhead answered.

She smiled once more before returning to her desk. When she passed by Fuu's desk, she shook her head and sent a mental message: _it's hopeless…_

_She really doesn't know us…_

_END OF FLASHBACK_

Umi sighed once more. "She…Hikaru…she really doesn't know us…it's as if she hasn't met us all her life! But how can that be? Isn't that impossible?"

Lantis looked back into the group, "But what if she had an accident and she received a blow on her head that caused her to lose all her memories from before?" he said silently, his eyes sad.

Nobody spoke. No one dared to back up what Lantis has just said. Nobody wanted to consider that possibility. The only possible logical explanation for Hikaru's behavior as far as they are concerned…

* * *

"So Hikaru, how are you doing here in the College?" Umi and Fuu asked.

The redhead turned to their direction, and she smiled the same bubbly smile that she had, nine years ago. "You're Ryuuzaki Umi and Hououji Fuu, right?" she first asked, and when the two nodded, after glancing briefly at each other, Hikaru's smile even grew bigger, as if her smile just wouldn't go away. "It was really great! The people are great and very nice, my co-teachers are very friendly and accommodating, and the students are very talented and kind! I think I'll be staying here for good!" she exclaimed, excitement shining in her eyes.

Umi and Fuu nodded happily. They were easily infected by her happiness. "Oh, by the way, before we forgot, can we invite you for a dinner party this night? At the Likaura's house? It is Lantis', the headmaster's only brother, 27th birthday. Will you come, onegai?" Fuu asked.

Hikaru hesitated. "But I'm not invited. What if the headmaster got angry? He might not like other people to attend his brother's birthday," she answered.

"Zagato will not be angry, I can assure you that. After all, I'm the one who's going to have the party, not him," replied a voice behind them.

The three turned around, and found Lantis standing behind them.

"Uhm, Lantis-san! Ohayou!" Hikaru greeted, bowing down.

The tall man strode over to where the three stood, and nodded his greeting for Umi and Fuu. The two, in turn, has a mischievous smile painted on their faces. Lantis chose to ignore the two.

"As I was saying, you're invited to come to my birthday party tonight. You should come, even without a present," he continued, looking down at the redhead that barely reached his shoulder. _Still the small redhead that I know and love for so many years, _he thought, smiling softly.

It was the day after their first meeting. The five friends resolved last night that they will get close to Hikaru as close as before, especially Umi and Fuu who were Hikaru's best friends. And then…Lantis will come in the scene and make Hikaru fall in love with him just like before. And this is their first step to get close to her: invite her on Lantis' 27th birthday.

"He's right, Hikaru-san. You should be in Lantis' party. It will be fun! And headmaster Zagato-san won't be angry. I'm sure he'll be thrilled that the newest professor here in the College gets along with his only brother," Fuu said, a naughty glint in her emerald eyes. She winked at Umi, and together they stared meaningfully at Lantis, who has a hard time keeping his face unreadable.

Hikaru blinked, and glanced back and forth from Fuu to Umi to Lantis and back to Fuu. "Huh? I'm…not quite following you, minna-san…what are you talking about?" she asked innocently, cocking her head on one side.

There was that knowing look that passed unnoticed between the three, and then Umi stepped forward to link an arm on Hikaru's left arm, "Oh, don't mind us! We're just teasing Mister Big-shot Lantis here!" she exclaimed.

Fuu went at the opposite side of the redhead and placed a hand on her shoulder, "So you're coming tonight, right? Umi-san and I can pick you up, Hikaru-san,"

Hikaru groaned and looked pleadingly at Fuu, "Oh please, Fuu-chan, stop calling me with a –san! It's too formal! Onegai, call me Shidou or Hikaru-chan or just plain Hikaru! I'm begging you! I'll only come if you promise not to call me 'Hikaru-san' anymore!"

Fuu smiled widely, and nodded at the redhead, "As you wish, Hikaru-chan," she replied. This earned a smile from the redhead, and they headed towards their respective classes.

* * *

**AN:** _I don't think that was any better than the last chapter...what do you think?_

_peace, man!_

_(.)-(.)_


	4. Chapter 4: Backtrack

**AN: **Gomen nasai for the long update! But I hope that this chapter will be more than enough to make up for it! Also, I want to thank Iarly for her very generous review. Not just her, but to everyone who read and reviewed my fic. Your wonderful words and encouragements are always kept in a special place in my heart. Even though I don't know you all personally, I still thank you from the bottom of my very overwhelmed heart. Thank you so much, kind reviewers! Oh, and Iarly? Gomen I didn't sent you an e-mail. Thought it would be better to follow what they always say, 'action speaks louder than words', 'ne? hehehe…

Oh, and for anyone out there who's a huge Hikaru/Lantis fan, please, write more Rayearth fics centering on them! There aren't enough of them! Although it's nice to write a fic dedicated to them, it's also nice to read something about them done by another author. And by the way, I'm planning on starting a C2 community for Hikaru/Lantis fics…would anyone be interested in being a staff? Please send me an email me! Thanks!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own MKR.

**Chapter 4: BACKTRACK**

"So Hikaru, tell us what your life has been in Sapporo. You said you lived there ever since you were in…high school? Did we got that right?" Umi asked, sipping into her martini.

Hikaru looked around, and then took a sip on her tequila. Fuu did the same. They were in one corner of the big lawn of the MC Knight's Manor. Music was blaring out of the speakers, and several couples were in the dance floor, while others were in the table, chitchatting.

"My life at Sapporo…? Well, let's see…I never really got to spend so much time outside the house, except when I reached college. By that time, my overly protective brothers finally allowed me to go out on a date, and they allowed me to spend more time with my friends. They even allowed me to stay in a boarding house along with my friends Iyashi and Ayah. And it was fun! Though my studies took a lot of my time, I still lived my college days to the fullest, and I never regretted that I didn't got to enjoy much of my high school life. After all, my brothers were only doing what they think is best for me," Hikaru answered, smiling at her two friends.

"What about you parents? Don't they allow you to go out?" Fuu asked, tipping her glasses back up.

Hikaru shook her head, and a wistful look came into her eyes, "Nope! 'Tousan and Okaasan were very much satisfied with the way my brothers were protecting me. You know, at times, I thought that I was some kind of a fragile being, because they were very cautious about things concerning me. In fact, they prevented me from every sport that I think I like, because they said I might get into an accident with one of those, so I insisted on my father to just teach me kendo and make me a professional kendoka,"

Umi's eyes widened, and she glanced at Fuu first before turning her eyes back to the redhead. "So…you practice kendo?" she asked casually.

Hikaru nodded slowly, her cheeks coloring, "Don't tell anyone, you guys, but I'm the number one kendoka in all of Japan right now. I just won the recent Japan Inter-kendo Championship. I stole the title from my brother Satoru," she staged whispered.

Umi and Fuu's eyes widened even more, and they let out a squeal and then clutched Hikaru's hands, "Wow! That's truly amazing! You're amazing Hikaru!" Fuu exclaimed.

Hikaru placed a finger on the two's lips, silencing them, "Shhh! Don't say it out loud! I'd like this thing to be kept as a secret, please?"

Umi and Fuu nodded, placing their left hand over their heart for reassurance. Hikaru looked at their hands, and her eyes were suddenly filled with confusion.

"Hikaru…? Are you all right…?" Umi asked, placing a hand on the redhead's shoulder. Suddenly, Hikaru swayed, and Fuu and Umi caught her wrist before she stumbled down on the floor.

"Hikaru!" they both exclaimed. They looked closely at Hikaru's face, which was turning pale by the minute. Her hands were cold and clammy.

"I-I'm okay, guys. Really…just got a…memory lapse in there…" the redhead answered, looking up at Umi and Fuu and smiling, reassuring the two.

"Memory lapse…?" Fuu asked.

"A memory lapse…I don't know…I just felt that that…promise you made…the way you placed your left hands in your chest…it felt…it felt familiar…" Hikaru trailed off, her eyes looking preoccupied.

Once again, the blue-haired and blonde-haired women looked at each other meaningfully. Hikaru looked down at her open palms for some time, then shook her head and looked up at Umi and Fuu once again, this time a big grin on her face.

"Aww, forget about it, guys! Its just nonsense! We're here to enjoy the party, and this is no time to think about those things!" she exclaimed, then pulled Umi and Fuu on their feet and started dancing on the dance floor.

The two were taken by surprise, but then they joined the redhead in dancing and pretty soon they were hitting it off in the dance floor.

* * *

"Hey Hikaru, where do you live?" Ascot asked. He, Umi, Ferio, Fuu and Hikaru were inside Ascot's CR-V, on their way home. It was already past midnight. 

"Oh, I live near the Kawasaki Juvenile Science Museum, at Tama-Ward," she answered, smiling up at Ascot. He smiled back, and then he started the car to head to wear Hikaru lives.

"So, you live all alone in there?" Ferio asked casually. He, Fuu and Hikaru were seating at the back of the car, while Umi was seated on the passenger's seat. Ascot was driving.

Hikaru nodded, "Yeah. I asked my mom and dad to let me live alone, and they agreed. Tousan and Okaasan are in Tokyo, living in a dojo. Tousan wanted to continue teaching kendo even though he was well past 55,"

Fuu's eyes widened, and so are the others. "A-a do-dojo?" Ferio sputtered.

Hikaru nodded again, "Yup. A dojo. Of course, he named it 'Shidou Dojo', for very obvious reasons. My brothers were already married, and Satoru's wife Omita just gave birth to a baby girl a few days ago. Masaru's wife Rika is already six months pregnant, and Kakeru's wife, my very good friend Maliana, is already two months pregnant," she narrated.

The others nodded. "Cool. It seems that the Shidou family really is getting bigger and bigger than it already is," Umi joked, and the others laughed.

"But what about you? Don't you have a special someone?" Fuu asked.

Hikaru's face turned red, and she was about to answer when she noticed that they were nearing Tama-Ward. "Oh, look guys! I'm near home!" she exclaimed. When they reached the entrance of the Ikuta Green Park, Ascot stopped the car.

"I'm already near here, around the corner," she said, and then quickly went out the car. The others followed suit, and they lined up in front of the park.

"Arigatou gozaimasou, my friends, for bringing me back home safely," she thanked, bowing down in front of the four. The four in turn bowed down also. "Arigatou as well, Hikaru, for attending Lantis' birthday tonight. I'm sure he was extra happy," Ascot replied, which was met by a confused stare from the redhead

"Huh? What are you saying?" she asked.

"Nothing, it was nothing," Ascot grinned, shaking his head.

"You better go inside your house, Hikaru, it's very late," Umi advised, smiling at her. The redhead nodded, and after throwing another look at Ascot, she stepped forward to where Umi and Fuu stood and hugged the two.

"Oyasumi, guys, sleep tight and have a nice dream," she muttered, then went to the path at the side of the park and disappeared into the darkness.

The four looked at each other, and then went inside the car to head back home.

"Do you guys still have any doubt that that is really the Hikaru we knew?" Ascot asked, his eyes fixed on the road. Nobody answered. Umi looked out the window, her breath fanning the window.

"That really _is _Hikaru. This time I have no doubt in my heart that that really is my best friend Shidou Hikaru!" she exclaimed.

"Just the mention of a dojo and I knew instantly that she is Hikaru, Umi-san. And the mention of her brothers Satoru, Masaru and Kakeru…" Fuu added.

"So now, we need to know what happened to her during the time that she was living in Morioka, and why she has no memory of her past self," Ferio stated.

They looked at each other once more, and said all together, "We need to go to Tokyo,"

* * *

It was another sunny Saturday morning, as Hikaru started jogging around the place. She avoided the path around the Ikuta Green Park to prevent herself from bumping into people who would go to the park and the museum. 

But then, she bumped into somebody, nonetheless.

One moment she was running, the other she was sent down hard on the ground. "Oh wow," she breathed. Just then, a deep baritone voice met her ears, and she saw a perfectly tanned hand in front of her face, offering help.

"I'm sorry Miss, for bumping into you. I wasn't look--Hikaru! It is you!" the voice exclaimed.

She looked up, and saw Lantis' face looking down at her. "Ohayou, Lantis-san," she greeted, and took Lantis' hand to get up. Once she's back on her feet, she faced Lantis and smiled up at him. "I'm sorry for the collision, Lantis-san, I didn't see you too. I guess I was preoccupied,"

Lantis shook his head, and then peered closely into her eyes, "It's my fault. I wasn't looking on the road. I was busy looking inside the park that I forgot to pay attention to where I'm heading. Are you all right? That seemed a little too hard for me," he insisted, his eyes showing concern for her.

She smiled up at him again and shook her head. "I'm perfectly fine, Lantis-san, please don't worry about me. I was just shocked for bumping into someone," she answered.

Lantis, on the other hand, felt his heart thump hard against his chest and he felt a warm sensation course through his veins, making him feel tender. "Well, I'm still sorry for what I did, whether it is my fault or yours," he answered, shrugging his shoulders. _I really missed you so much, my love…you just can't imagine the pain I've been through for living the nine years of my life without you, and without making you feel the love I feel for you right from the very start that I saw you at the Castle,_ he thought, his eyes looking kindly at the redhead.

Hikaru started to jog again, and Lantis fell into step beside her. "So what are you doing here in Ikuta Park, Lantis-san? This is a far place to jog in!" she asked, smiling brightly at him.

Lantis offered a small smile, and Hikaru felt her heart speed up._ Whoa! What's going on with me?_ She asked frantically, avoiding eye contact with the tall raven-haired man. She can't explain the sudden erratic beating of her heart at Lantis' smile. _What's happening to me…? Why is it that he has that kind of effect on me…?_ She asked restlessly.

"I wanted to see a new place to jog in to. Ferio suggested I jog around here, because he was sure I'm going to love the scenery and…maybe I'd bump into someone…" he slipped, stealing a glance at the redhead.

Hikaru kept her gaze ahead, but her face was turning redder by the minute. _Oh my…could it be that Ferio is playing matchmaker between Lantis and me…? Oh please…I'm not yet ready for this!_ She cleared her throat and attempted to smile, but still her eyes were fixed on the road. "That's great…Ikuta Green Park is really a nice place to relax. The cool wind, the warm sunlight, the refreshing sight…everything in here has a sort of therapeutic effect…especially in a disturbed mind and worn out body. This is the perfect place to liberate your soul and find peace once again," she remarked.

A deep, throaty laugh escaped Lantis' mouth, and he looked amused at the redhead. "You sound like an advertising model, Hikaru. Does the government pay you part-time to sales talk every person who crosses their path here?" he teased.

Hikaru laughed, and gave him a punch on the shoulder, "Funny, Lantis-san. I just appreciate the nature and everything in it, you know! After all, I'm a Biology major!" she retorted.

Lantis stopped laughing, but his eyes were still dancing in mischief. "All right, all right! I'll stop. I was way out of line for teasing you like that,"

Hikaru 'humph', then she jogged a few feet away from him. Lantis followed, and pretty soon they were laughing once again.

"Oh, and by the way, please call me Lantis, without the –san suffix. I hate formalities too, you know, like you do," Lantis said, giving a small smile towards Hikaru.

Hikaru nodded, "Would it be okay if I call you Lantis-chan? Like I call Ferio-chan and Ascot-chan?" she asked.

Lantis stopped for a moment, _I was hoping for a 'koishii' as an endearment_, he thought, and then he nodded at the redhead. "That would be fine, Hikaru-chan," he answered.

Hikaru's smile widened, and she run a few feet ahead, "That's better. Now, race you up to the top of the Shrine steps at the end of this road!" and she sprinted forward, making sure of having a 3-feet distance from Lantis.

The raven-haired man shook his head slightly, and muttered under his breath, "I miss Hikaru very much," and then shouted at the already running redhead, "You might want to run faster, Hikaru, because I tell you, I'm a fast runner!" and then he run forward and started gaining speed. He heard Hikaru laugh, and her retort.

"May the best runner win!" and she run faster.

* * *

Thirty minutes later… 

"It's already 10 o'clock. What do you say we head over to that canteen we passed by a few moments ago?" Lantis suggested, stopping under a bug sakura tree in the middle of Ikuta Green Park.

They had gone inside the park to see scenic views, and they weren't disappointed. The trees really had a calming effect, and the two felt that even though they had been jogging around the place for more than two hours now, they aren't tired yet. Plus, Lantis really is a fun guy to be with, Hikaru discovered just now. There's more to the cold look and unemotional face that has become his trademark.

The guy's really warm inside, and sort of lonely, almost as if he's searching for a part of his soul that has become lost through the years. _Just like me_, Hikaru thought, glancing around the place. After a few moments, she looked back at Lantis' expectant face and smiled.

"Sure, Lantis-chan. I think that's a great idea!" she answered, and then the two of them headed for the restaurant.

After settling inside, and making their orders from the counter, they ate in silence. Lantis feasted on tuna sandwich, pasta and orange juice. Hikaru got herself a plate of baked macaroni and a glass of green tea.

"Are you sure you don't want to eat more?" Lantis asked as he wiped a napkin across his mouth. He just finished drinking juice.

Hikaru shook her head and wiped her mouth as well before answering him, "Nope! I'm fine with what I ate. In fact, that is too much! At breakfast, I normally eat two slices of wheat bread and that's it! But with you, I feel obliged to eat more,"

Lantis smiled a little, "So that explains why you never grew up," he teased.

Hikaru rolled her eyes at him, "The reason why I didn't grew up is because Okaasan's short too, you know! It's in my genes!" she retorted.

"Just kidding. Hey Hikaru-chan, can you please tell me more about yourself? Matte, before you think of anything else, I just wanted to get to know you better, since we're teaching in the same school," he requested, turning a little red at Hikaru's raised eyebrows.

"Its okay, Lantis-chan. After all, we're already friends!" she said, then leaned back on her chair and crossed her legs under the table, "Well, I can't really remember much about my childhood, but I do remember things from my college life. Because my family wanted the best for me, when we moved out of Tokyo and into Sapporo, they enrolled me to Sapporo University to get quality education. My college life was really tough: there were so many quizzes and projects that I had barely enough time to go to the mall with my friends or watch a movie with my family. But anyway, my dorm mates and I went out every weekend, or whenever our schedules were okay. We frequented bars and watched movies and concerts whenever we had time. It was both a good thing and a bad thing. A good thing because I was able to concentrate on my studies very well and get high grades and graduate with flying colors. That was the good thing. The bad thing was…well, my quality time with my family became lesser than before, but nevertheless, they were always there to support me in everything I do,"

"What about boyfriends? Didn't you have one?" Lantis inquired, his eyes unreadable. _Please…let it be a 'none'…let it be a 'none'!_

Hikaru's cheeks reddened, and she smiled sheepishly at him and nodded slightly, "Well, actually, I had…a number of suitors back in high school and…well, I fell in love with one of them…"

Lantis attempted to smile, but his smile never reached his eyes, "What's his name?" _That hurts…_

"His name's Rei, Izumo Rei, a very close friend of mine who is, at the same time, my biggest crush in college," Hikaru answered.

"Ahh…so your first boyfriend was a friend, huh? Did your parents know?" Lantis asked.

"Hai. Rei wanted to be honest with my family, and in return, my family accepted him on the condition that we finish our studies first before we commit to each other seriously, which we obeyed dutifully," Hikaru answered again, smiling at him.

He swallowed the lump in his throat, and he asked once again, "You keep associating your boyfriend with a present tense. Does this mean that…the two of you are still together?"

Hikaru nodded once again, and her face radiated love for her boyfriend, "Yes. We were able to keep our relationship surviving through the years, even though we got separated for two years. After I graduated from college, 'tousan decided to live with his sister at Morioka, so we went there. But still, Rei and I kept our communication open and hoped that someday, we'll see each other again."

"Oh, so for two years now, you still haven't seen him?"

"Yeah. But we exchanged letters and called each other over. And he promised me he'll be coming over here in Kawasaki after his research on Philippine herbal plants is done," she answered, beaming at him.

"Missed him so much?"

"Yeah…I do…"

"Lucky guy…" Lantis muttered under his breath.

"What did you say, Lantis-chan?" Hikaru strained to hear, drawing out of her fantasyland.

"Nothing. I didn't say anything. Come on Hikaru-chan, I think we should be going," Lantis shook his head, and stood up from the table. Hikaru followed suit, and after leaving a few hundred yen bills on the table, they were off.

_Hikaru's heart already belongs to someone else…_

_What is my purpose for being here on Earth, anyway...? Now that the woman I love already loves another man…_

_What's the point of being here on Earth if the only reason I was here was already…shattered?_

* * *

**AN: **Eh…I hope the next chapter will be completed soon. Gomen for the short chapter! R/R please! Flames are greatly appreciated! 


	5. Chapter 5: A Visit From a Rival

**AN:** Ooppsss…gomen for the long hiatus…hehehe…anyways, here's the next installment! Hope you enjoy reading! And thanks again for those who reviewed! I love you all so much! sloppy kiss

**DISCLAIMER:** Ehh…I don't own MKR. Hehehe…

**Chapter 5: A VISIT FROM A RIVAL**

"You mean Hikaru already has a boyfriend? Since she was in college?" Umi asked.

Lantis nodded numbly.

He, Umi, Fuu, Ferio and Ascot were seating inside his apartment, a glass of wine in each other's hands. Lantis drank his whole glass straight, and brought down the glass on the coffee table.

"And how did you know that?" Ferio asked.

"I went jogging last Saturday at the Ikuta Green Park, and I bumped into her and well, we had a few talks and she told me she already has a boyfriend who is in Sapporo or so I think," he answered dryly.

"So you took up my advice? But…I'm sorry buddy, it didn't turned out well as what we had expected," Ferio apologized, looking guiltily at the raven-haired man.

Lantis shook his head and faced Ferio, "You don't have to be sorry for it, Ferio. I'm sure all you have in mind is to help me when you suggested I take a trip to Ikuta, and I'm not regretting it too. I was happy I had a chance to talk to my Hikaru, but it seems that she's no longer mine…"

"Lantis-san…" Fuu trailed off. She didn't know what to say. So what her mouth couldn't say her eyes conveyed.

Lantis smiled a little and looked around his friends, "Look guys, I'm hurting, that's true, but as they say, life must go on. Somehow, I always knew that something like this might happen. Hikaru and I have been separated for what? More than six years. It's almost unbelievable that I was able to keep away from all the other girls trying to get my attention, and it's almost impossible to believe that I still feel the love I have for Hikaru. But on Hikaru's part…that realization came a little bit earlier as she fell out of love from me and forgot about me all together. It hurts a lot; but I'll survive. You don't have to be worried all over me, promise. I can handle myself,"

"But Lantis, buddy, we're talking of Hikaru here, the love of your life, the only woman we know that you fell in love with, and yet you're telling us that you're okay with the fact that Hikaru already has a boyfriend? Lantis, we're your friends, you don't have to lie on us and put on a brave front. We can see through your façade very clearly," Ascot interjected smoothly, looking concerned at his friend.

Lantis sighed and stood up. He couldn't stand the stares that his friends were giving him. After a few moments of silence, Fuu stood up from the couch and walked over to him. She placed a hand on his arm, and stared into his amethyst eyes.

"Lantis-san, I know that you're brave and can really handle a lot of pressure in your life, as your past self in Cephiro endured a lot of pains and trials, but this one, the one that concerns your heart, is all too new for you. The pain and grief inside…it's a natural human being feeling, and that's the one feeling that makes you human, but you know what? It's not exactly the feeling but how you handle it that makes you a strong person, so by escaping from it, you're nothing but a mere coward and a spineless bastard. You have to face it head on, because you can't really win against the wishes of your heart. Small space as it is, it maybe everything in your whole being, Lantis-san, believe me,"

"So you're telling me to not give up on her even if she has her eyes set on another man?" Lantis retorted, still to refusing to look at Fuu.

"Yes. You have to fight for what you came for here in our world. You gave up your life in Cephiro so you can be with my best friend, and now that you learned that she already has a boyfriend, you'll stop. I suggest that you only give up when you feel like you can't fight for her anymore, like when she's already married or something, but for now, you shouldn't lose hope. It's very unlike you,"

Lantis was silent for a long time. He looked out the window and saw a bird flying on the sky. His gaze never left the bird until it was out of sight. _Maybe that's what you should do to Hikaru, man, never lose her until she's finally out of your sight and out of your grasp…_

He faced Fuu and with a small smile, nodded at her.

"As you've said Fuu, the pain is unbearable. And the only thing that crossed my mind is to runaway, to hide from Hikaru as far away as possible. But I guess you're right. I'll only stop when I feel like Hikaru has really erased me from her heart. And I'll never give up unless she wanted me to,"

"That's the spirit, man!" Ferio answered, clapping him at the back.

Umi and Ascot rose from their seat, and all five stood at the middle of the room, looking at each other.

"Promise that we won't give up on Hikaru?" Ascot asked.

"Promise." Was the reply.

"There's no stopping us from getting back the old Hikaru," Umi said.

"There's no stopping us," was Fuu's reply.

"There's no stopping us," Lantis said.

"There's no stopping us," Ferio and Ascot chorused.

* * *

"Lantis-chan! Wait up for me!" a voice called out on the street. 

Lantis looked behind him, and upon seeing a running Hikaru, he smiled a little and stopped on his tracks. _She's much cuter today that I could ever remember seeing her,_ he thought.

Hikaru stopped right in front of him, panting, "Ohayou, Lantis-chan! We see each other again, huh? You're here to shop?" she commented, taking note of Lantis' paper bags on each arm.

'The tall man nodded and they started walking down the street. "Yeah. 'Niisama asked me to have dinner with him and Emeraude-neechan tonight so I volunteered to buy and cook our foods. What about you Hikaru-chan? Why are you here?"

"I came to meet Umi-chan and Fuu-chan at the park and I wanted to pass by the Ice Cream Parlor I saw yesterday so…" Hikaru answered, shrugging.

Lantis lifted an eyebrow, _a meeting with Umi and Fuu…? Why, those two didn't tell me about it…!_ "You came here for Umi and Fuu? Interesting. Say, you want me to accompany you to the park? You might get lost," he offered. _Please say yes! Please say yes!_

Hikaru beamed at him and he felt his heart skipped a few beats," Sure! That's very nice of you, Lantis-chan! If I wouldn't be so much a bother to you…?"

"Fear nothing, Hikaru-chan. I offered my help, and I'm free. Anyway, if you're talking of my dinner with my brother and sister-in-law, that's okay. I can cook later. For the meantime, I'll accompany you to the park," he answered.

And so they walked the path towards the park. It was Hikaru who was doing the talking, while Lantis listened and smiled. When they passed by Joe's Ice Cream Parlor, Hikaru stopped and Lantis followed suit.

"Would it be okay if I buy an ice cream?" Hikaru asked, looking up at Lantis.

Lantis smiled and nodded, "Of course, Hikaru-chan, its okay," and so they entered. He quickly took a line at the counter and turned to the redhead, "What would you like to order?"

Hikaru's eyes swept by at the menu, and her eyes fixed on a double scoop chocolate marble ice cream on a sugar cone. "That one," she answered, pointing at her order.

Lantis nodded and got out his wallet. Hikaru's eyes widened in alarm and she quickly placed both hands on Lantis' stopping him from fishing out a few hundred yens.

"Oh please Lantis-chan! I'll pay for it!" she pleaded, taking out her own wallet.

Lantis shook his head and gently shoved Hikaru's hands to get 1,000 yen. "This is going to be my treat. And besides, I want an ice cream too," he answered, smiling softly at the redhead.

Hikaru smiled hesitantly and placed a hand on his arm. She was about to open her mouth when suddenly-

_--A flashback of her and a tall man in black armor appeared on her mind--_

Her gaze suddenly became glassy, and she swayed a bit to her left. Luckily, Lantis caught her on her wrist, and he looked directly in her eyes.

"Hey, are you with me? Hikaru-chan." He asked.

Hikaru blinked a couple of times and she met Lantis' concerned stare. His eyes became darker, and he still has his tight grip on her wrist. "Yeah…yeah, I'm with you. I'm…fine…" she answered, offering a feeble smile at him, but he wasn't fooled. He was about top ask her again a question, but the man in front of him finally stepped out, and it's his time to order.

"I'll have a double scoop chocolate marble and a vanilla sundae, please," he ordered. The waitress behind the counter smiled charmingly at him, obviously taken by his charm.

"Just a moment, sir," the waitress answered, and she smiled at him flirtatiously before heading on the frozen ref to prepare their orders.

Hikaru felt an unfamiliar tug at her heart, and she had this irresistible urge to shout at the waitress. _Whoa Shidou! Keep it down! This is Lantis-chan we're talking about, a good friend of yours! You can't possibly be feeling jealous of the flirtatious smile that waitress gave him, right? In the first place, you already have a boyfriend! And second, you are not in love with Lantis-chan! Right!_ She reminded herself, stealing a quick glance at him.

_But why is it that whenever you're near him, you feel warm all over, and you feel as if nothing and no one will be able to harm you as long as he's with you? And can you explain the happiness you feel whenever you see him?_ Her heart countered.

_Oh! Make it stop! Stop it!_ Her mind ordered, and she turned her head to Lantis.

Lantis noticed her movement, and he looked down at her, "I think the waitress is almost finished preparing our ice creams," he commented.

Hikaru smiled a little but said nothing. Then the waitress came with their ice creams, and she saw the waitress deliberately brushed her hand on Lantis', and she felt her blood boil. _Why that slut--! _She screeched silently, staring daggers at the waitress.

Lantis didn't seem to mind, as he handed Hikaru the ice creams and he ushered her at a spot at the corner of the parlor.

"Why don't you ask Umi and Fuu to just meet you here at the ice cream parlor? The park is just a few meters away, anyway, and you three can talk over a couple of ice creams and tacos," he suggested, licking his ice cream.

_Oww…shacks…he looks so sexy licking his ice cream that way_, she thought, and then she felt her self blush a little. _Where did that come from!_ "Sure. I'll just call them," she agreed, and quickly pulled out her cell phone and dialed Umi's number.

"Moshi moshi Umi-chan! It's me, Hikaru. Where are you now… at the park… oh, is Fuu-chan with you?… that's good! Listen, I'm here at Joe's Ice Cream Parlor, would it be okay if we meet up here? So we can have a few ice creams while talking?… okay? Yeah! Arigatou! I'll wait for you two here!… okay, sayonara! Take care!" and she ended the phone call. "They're coming over," she announced, smiling at Lantis.

"Would you like me to order for them?" he asked, ready to stand up.

"You're very sweet and thoughtful, Lantis-chan," she answered instead, smiling tenderly at him.

Lantis felt his cheeks warm a bit, and his heart was once again filled with happiness. _Her smile could really take me anywhere she wants me to,_ he mused. "Arigatou, Hikaru-chan. So, what about the orders?"

Hikaru thought for a while, and she smiled when she thought of something, "I'm sure Umi-chan would enjoy a strawberry ice cream, and Fuu-chan would want a chocolate chip cookie, just like--" but she stopped in mid-sentence. Her smile suddenly faltered, and her face turned a little pale.

Lantis quickly pressed a hand on Hikaru's. _That's the second time,_ he mentally counted. "Hikaru. You're doing it again. What's the matter? Are you all right?" he asked, peering closely at her eyes.

"I--I…was just remembering…something…from…before…" she answered silently, her gaze pointed at a spot behind Lantis.

_From before,_ he repeated. Was Hikaru finally remembering? "What do you mean?"

Hikaru now looked at him, and the confusion printed on her eyes a while ago was suddenly gone. "Don't mind me. I'm okay. Now, about those orders…" she answered, a bright smile plastered on her face.

Lantis took one more look on her before he smiled as well, "Yes, the orders," and stood up.

As soon as he turned his back on her, she furrowed her brow and stared outside the window.

_What do those flashes mean? Why do I have a perfect picture of myself in red armor, standing side-by-side with a tall man in black armor who looks suspiciously so much like Lantis-chan?_

_And what am I doing at an ice cream parlor, eating ice creams with Umi-chan and Fuu-chan, when in fact I only met the two of them just a few weeks ago?_

And another thought.

_Could it be that I met Umi-chan and Fuu-chan before? And Lantis-chan too? But…why is he in battle armor? And why am I in battle armor too?_

_What do those flashes mean? What…?_

But she just drew a blank on her mind. A dead end. She really can't pinpoint in her memory those disturbing flashes.

* * *

Umi and Fuu entered the ice cream parlor a few moments later and quickly spotted Hikaru and Lantis at the corner booth of the place, beside a window. 

"I'm having second thoughts as to whether we should approach them or not, Fuu," Umi said, a big smile plastered on her face.

Fuu nodded, she too has a happy smile on her face, "Me too Umi-san! They look so good together! But wait a minute. How come Lantis-san is here?"

Umi frowned a little. "You're right. Why is he here anyway?"

They looked at each other and nodded, then went to Hikaru and Lantis' table. It was Hikaru who noticed them first.

"Umi-chan! Fuu-chan!" she called out, waving an arm. The two women waved back and they quickly sat at the empty chairs beside Lantis and Hikaru.

"Ohayou Hikaru-chan, Lantis-san," Fuu greeted accordingly.

"Ohayou Fuu-chan, Umi-chan," Hikaru greeted as well.

"Say Lantis, why are you here?" Umi asked, turning at the raven-haired man.

"We saw each other," Lantis said, referring to Hikaru, "At the supermarket. Then I offered her to walk towards the park but we passed by this ice cream parlor and then I decided that she tell you two to meet here," he answered.

"Ahh…okay." Fuu said. Then she turned to Hikaru and smiled, "How are you Hikaru-chan?" she asked.

"I'm fine Fuu-chan, arigatou. What about you? And what about you too, Umi-chan, what's up?" Hikaru answered and asked at the same time. She beamed at her two friends and waited for their answers.

"I'm fine as well, Hikaru-chan, thank you for asking," Fuu answered.

Umi shrugged, "Same goes for me. I'm pretty good too, Hikaru. Nothing much to do, since I finished my class lessons weeks ahead of time. And I have all the time to kill now!" she answered, and everybody in the table chuckled, including Mr. Lantis the Snob.

"Oh, before I forgot, please eat your ice creams first before it melts. Lantis-chan was kind enough to order you two, and he said that that's for free," Hikaru said, pointing at the ice creams in front of Umi and Fuu.

The two let out a squeal, and quickly dug on their dessert. "Wow! Strawberry! Thank you for remembering, Lantis!" Umi thanked sweetly.

Lantis shook his head, "But it was not I who remembered those flavors, Umi, it was Hikaru-chan," he spoke up.

Two pairs of eyes turned to the blushing Hikaru, and she smiled sheepishly at her friends, "It's nothing, really. I just had this…sort of a vision and I suddenly remembered that you two wanted those flavors. Strange, 'ne?" she explained hurriedly.

Still, Umi and Fuu's eyes remained glued at her. She was about to avert her eyes from the close scrutiny she was getting from her friends when suddenly her cell phone vibrated. She quickly got out her cell and her face lit up when she saw who the caller was.

"Koishii! How are you?…oh…I'm fine…yeah, still short as ever…yeah, I'm eating properly…yes, Rei, I'm eating on time…for goodness sake Rei! I'm taking very good care of myself, thank you very much!…yeah… I know…you're teasing me again…yeah…can you call me again some other time? Perhaps this evening?… I'm out with a couple of friends…yeah; we're eating at an ice cream parlor…you brute! No I'm not! Grrr…when I get my hands on you…soon…? What do you mean soon…?…tomorrow! You mean…you're back from the Philippines! Yeah! When!…Okay…I'll see you tonight…yeah…take care koishii…aishiteru…yeah…you too…sayonara!" she said, and then she turned off the call and turned at her waiting friends with a big smile on her face.

"Your boyfriend?" Umi asked, her smile faltering a little bit.

Hikaru nodded happily, and this only added to the misery that Lantis was feeling right now.

"He's coming back from the Philippines and told me that he'd pay me a visit tonight! He said we'd dine out and then he'd surprise with. I wonder what that is…" Hikaru trailed, looking at a space between Fuu and Lantis.

"Must be a nice surprise…" Fuu offered, but on the corner of her eyes she was observing Lantis.

"Yeah, I hope so too!" Hikaru exclaimed, her smile widening.

"Who would want to give you a nasty surprise in the first place, huh?" Umi teased, a sparkle on her ocean-colored eyes.

Hikaru blushed, and she laughed a little, "You're flattering me, Umi-chan! But anyway, would you three like to meet Rei? You can go with me tonight, I'm sure Rei won't mind a little company, especially if they're my friends," she asked, looking expectantly at the three.

Fuu cleared her throat as Umi fumbled for an excuse, "Uhm, Hikaru, that is, Ascot and I already planned to spend the evening at the apartment, with Fuu and Ferio. We're planning to have a movie marathon, the same way that we used to have every weekend,"

Hikaru looked disappointed, but she nodded at the two woman and smiled, then she turned to Lantis hopefully, "What about you, Lantis-chan? Can you come?"

Lantis offered a small smile but it didn't reached his eyes, "I would love to, Hikaru-chan, but I already promised oniisan and Emeraude-neechan a dinner at their home tonight, remember?" he answered.

Hikaru nodded, "Oh yeah, I forgot that! Gomen, I was so preoccupied with Rei that I can't think straight! But anyway…it would be fun to dine out with him, with only the two of us. The last time that we had a date was…two or three years ago, I think, so I guess I'll prepare for my big night tonight! It was nice meeting up with you, Umi-chan, Fuu-chan and Lantis-chan! See you again at school! Sayonara!" she said, then stood up from her chair and went out hurriedly.

The three left looked at each other meaningfully, then Lantis stood up and carried his bags, "I'm going, take care you two. Regards to Ferio and Ascot. I'll be over at your apartment later," he said, and then went.

Umi and Fuu stared at each other then Fuu sighed. "So much for a happy morning," she commented.

Umi nodded.

* * *

It was another sunny Monday morning, and the students at Shikigoku College were in a rush to get to their respective classrooms before the bell. Everywhere there was a blur of white, blue, orange, red, green, and black shirts, lost in a middle of a greater blur of assorted pants and blouses. But inside the Faculty Room was another scene. 

The faculty members were unusually calm and quiet. Others were pilled up at the drinking fountain; others were at the window, admiring the early sunshine, while the rest were seated in their desks.

Lantis, Umi, Fuu, Ascot and Ferio were huddled in Ferio's desk, occasionally glancing at Hikaru, who just came in and was currently fixing her things and her hair as well.

"Come on, Lantis, approach her!" Ascot hissed. Ferio nudged Lantis at the latter's ribs, and Lantis stood up to approach the silent redhead, when suddenly there was a knock at the door and seconds later a mass of long brown hair poked inside the room.

"Anou, I'm looking for Shidou Hikaru," the tall man asked. Umi and Fuu's eyes went up and down critically on the man's figure. He was as tall as Lantis, with piercing very light brown eyes, contrast to his dark brown hair, well-contoured face, thin lips, and lean, but muscular body. All in all, the man exuded confidence and an air or authority.

Hikaru, on the other hand, quickly stood up from her seat and went to the door immediately. "Rei-chan!" she exclaimed.

Lantis' heart dropped on the floor. _So this is Hikaru's boyfriend…_ he thought. He looked hard on the man, hoping to unnerve him, but to his surprise the guy didn't even bothered to look at him! Instead, all his attention was focused on his girlfriend, who was ushering him inside the room.

"Hikaru-san, who is that guy?" Professor Miki Kinimoto asked teasingly.

Hikaru visibly blushed, and she paused in front of the room to introduce her grinning boyfriend. "Anou, my fellow professors, this is my boyfriend, Izumo Rei. He just came back from the Philippines, where he conducted his one-year research about the Philippine herbal plants. He was also a Biology major, like me," she briefly introduced.

Rei bowed down slightly, and greeted them all, "Konnichiwa, minna-san," came out his mild voice.

"Konnichiwa, Rei-san," the faculty members greeted as well. Lantis and the others barely nodded. They glanced at each other then sighed. They split up and went to their respective seats. Hikaru, on the other hand, pulled Rei towards her desk where they talked in hushed voices.

_Lantis._

Lantis perked his head up, and then glanced to where Umi was sitting. When she saw him, she just grinned and continued on her telepathy.

_Lantis._

_What is it that you want, Umi-chan? I'm busy._ Was his curt answer.

_My, aren't we touchy today?_

_Quit it, Umi, it's not funny._

_Okay, okay. I'll stop. _

_Better. _

Umi was silent for a minute. She just watched Lantis from afar, but then he got irritated that he cannot concentrate on his work.

_Okay, stop it already! Let us talk, and be fast!_ Lantis gave up.

He heard Umi laugh, then in came her voice, _Gomen nasai for making you feel uneasy, Lantis. I just wanted to tell you that even if that Izumo Rei looks like a Greek god, you're still handsome and charming. So onegai, keep that frown off your face. You look like a 40-year old adult._ She teased.

She received a death glare from Lantis before she heard his voice in telepathy, _I know what I look like, Umi, and I know I'm handsome too._

_How conceited of you!_

_I'm just saying the truth._

Silence. Umi contemplated on saying what she wanted to say, but Lantis beat her to it. _Say it, Umi-chan.__ It's okay. _

Umi took a deep breath first before releasing her breath slowly, _Are you going to give up now that Rei has arrived?_

Lantis was silent. He looked over to where Hikaru and Rei sat, and upon seeing the tender looks that the two has been exchanging, he felt a pang of loss inside him, and he had difficulty answering Umi.

_I don't know Umi…I just don't know…_

**_

* * *

AN:__ Hehehe…a little crappy, huh? R/R please! Oh, and if anyone ahs already seen "Angelic Layer", another great work by CLAMP, can you please tell me where I can buy DVD's of VCD's? Please! _ **


	6. Chapter 6 : Confusions and Tragedies

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **First up - - a humongous sorry for the very long wait. Hehehe... you can say that it was a very huge case of burnout and stress with my internship and all. Hehehe…plus, I've been very busy with our thesis that I have no time to polish my work, except now! Hahaha! So please do enjoy the chapter!

juzblue - - I'm sorry I wasn't able to update soon, but I promise you, this is a good chapter! But… an overly LantisOC hehehe…

pokemongirl2523 - - I intend to torture Lantis, girl! Hahaha! and thanks for the tips…I already know where to buy the dvd's…

CrimsonReality - - thanks for reviewing! there's this local store here in my homeland that sells anime stuffs, and yes, they have the angelic layer dvd's. So that one was scratched off from my list of problems.

syvonair - - what are you doing, reviewing my story! You have your own story to update, girl! So work on it! Hahaha! Miss yah!

merissala - - finally, someone agreed with me! Yes, crappy, but I need that to get on to the next chapter. ya know, filler chapters..? I hope this new chap satisfies you enough to continue reading the story!

Iarly - - yup, you better get back to work…I need to read another chapter of 'battling emotions' soon or else--! and thank you, for accepting my invitation to be a staff of 'ruby lightning'…anyways, any stories you would like to add to our archive..?

The Myth Keeper - - glad you're liking the story even if it's a bit different. I love new reviewers, so thank you for reviewing!

hyuuga onigiri - - yep, I'm a Filipino. you also from the Philippines?

kishfan - - yep, my mission for life is to make Lantis suffer…bwahahaha! but…what am I, a Hikaru/Lantis sucker, if I don't give them a happy ending?

**ADDL' NOTES: **I intend Lantis to be OOC because, well, that's how I envision him if he's 'normal' like Hikaru. You know, without the tragedy of Zagato and Emeraude on his mind, and the problem of Cephiro's crumbling world in his shoulders, he'll have nothing to worry about but Hikaru. Imagine his devastation if he finds out Hikaru loves another man – and without recollection of him and her best friends. If you were in Lantis' shoes, how will you react?

And the song here in italics, is entitled, "**Ame No Hino Hana No You Ni"** by Nakamura Ayumi, which can be found in "Best Collection" album of MKR. It's really a good song, so check it out!

**DISCLAIMER:** Magic Knight Rayearth rightfully belongs to CLAMP. I own nothing; even my sanity is at my disposal.

**Chapter 6: CONFUSIONS AND TRAGEDIES**

As what has become his practice, Lantis was up as early as 5 o' clock on Saturday morning to jog around Ikuta Green Park. He did a few circles on the bay park, and then ran ahead of the long stretch of pine trees and acacia trees. After an hour, he stopped by the restaurant where he and Hikaru ate when they jogged around the place. He ordered the same things: pasta, tuna sandwich and orange juice. Plus he ordered a serving of baked macaroni.

_Just like what Hikaru ordered from before_, he thought wistfully.

He did not wait for a long time for his order arrived shortly. He was about to take a bite from his sandwich when he heard a familiar voice from the door of the restaurant.

"Lantis-chan!"

He quickly turned his head towards the source of the sound and saw Hikaru approaching, with a smiling Rei behind her. The smile that he was about to give was quickly wiped off from his face, replaced by a blank expression.

"Hikaru-chan, Rei-san," he greeted. When the two finally sat down at the table, Rei gave him a quizzical look.

"You already know me?" Rei asked. He merely nodded.

"Hai. Hikaru-chan has told me a lot about you, and you were at the school last Monday, right? I was there at the Faculty room as well. So…" he answered, shrugging.

Hikaru has a perplexed look on her face, and he was looking at Lantis critically that he felt he was being examined under a microscope like a specimen.

"Daijobou desu ka Lantis-chan?" she asked.

He forced himself to nod in answer, and tore his eyes away from her ruby ones before he sink into the depths of her seemingly endless eyes.

"Hai, Hikaru-chan, I'm fine. You don't have to ask. By the way, what are you two doing here?" he replied.

"We were just jogging around the block. And then I invited Rei over here to try out the foods. I'm sure he'd have fun eating here just as much as we had," Hikaru answered.

Rei turned surprised eyes towards his girlfriend, "'As mush as we had'?" he repeated. The question in his eyes was very clear.

Hikaru nodded as she waved on a waiter, "Yeah. We bumped into each other about a week or so ago, and we ate at this restaurant and we enjoyed the food. You should try the baked macaroni and the green tea; they're really tasty," she answered.

Rei quickly smiled at his girlfriend and nodded, his eye traveling on the menu up and down, searching for a food to eat, "Okay. I'll take your word for it. And besides, I can see that Lantis-san here is enjoying his meal so…"

The waiter nodded, and he turned to Hikaru with kind eyes, "What about you, Miss? What would you have?"

"Oh, I'll have ramen, please, and orange juice. That will be all," Hikaru answered, and after a quick bow, the waiter scooted away for their orders.

"You're out for a jog again, Lantis-chan?" Hikaru asked.

He nodded again. "Hai. The morning sun is good, so I took the opportunity and here I am!"

Hikaru and Rei laughed. Shortly after, the orders arrived, and the two lovebirds ate in silence. Lantis took this opportunity to study Rei up close. With the latter's chiseled jaw, strong arms and lean body, Rei could be mistaken as a troublemaker. But he could sense a deep calmness from him, plus his unwavering love for Hikaru. He could tell that Rei would do anything for Hikaru, and he would do nothing to hurt Hikaru intentionally or unintentionally.

_He's perfect for my Hikaru…_ he thought. It pained him to think that anyone else other than him would be able to give Hikaru the happiness and contentment that he has seen on her face nine years ago, but with her interaction with Rei right now, he has seen what he has dreaded to see. In Rei, Hikaru was happy and very much in love. He sighed inwardly and dropped his eye on his plate.

_He really loves my Hikaru very much…_

Next, he forced his eyes to look at Hikaru. With her ruby tresses down on her shoulders with a few locks dangling on her forehead, she looked as divine as ever. He has to take a few deep breaths to keep his heart from racing, but he could feel his blood pumping heavily through his veins. Just the mere sight of Hikaru excites the tiniest nerve and vessel in his being. She was like a drug in his system that he simply cannot drive away, for the mere fact that that drug is his source of life and energy and willpower to continue on living in this world. But then…his _drug_ was taken away from him for a very long time, and just when he found that _drug_ again, he found out that his _drug_ was already somebody else's, and his _drug_ does not remember him anymore.

That thought alone was painful, but what was more painful was that Hikaru shows no sign of having remembering him. None. Zilch. A dead end. While he was here, thinking the world of her, she was there, thinking of anything else but _him. _

_This is a hopeless case…**I **am a hopeless case…_his mind silently screamed, casting another look at Hikaru's open face.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hikaru was busy nibbling on her food, but her mind was elsewhere. She threw a glance at the sulking Lantis.

_Lantis sure is acting very weird today…_

And then her mind screamed. **_Lantis_**_! **Lantis **only! What the hell was that supposed to mean!_

She quickly glanced at her boyfriend, and found him engrossed on his food. Stifling a sigh, she returned to hers and ate automatically.

_Why can't Rei be like Lantis-chan? Always thoughtful and never a dull moment with him. Plus, Lantis-chan acts as if I'm more interesting than his food._ She whined inwardly, which received another groan from her conscience.

_Hikaru! What the heck were you thinking! Comparing your wonderful boyfriend from your very good friend Lantis! What has become of you!_

_But I was just making a comparison! What's wrong with that? And besides, what I said was true, Lantis-chan really acts as if I'm the most important person in the world, unlike Rei here who is more engrossed on his food than he really was ever to me!_ She answered back. She felt stupid for arguing with her conscience, especially since _normal_ people don't usually do that!

_But Rei is your boyfriend! Or have you forgotten that! _Her conscience continued to rant.

She felt a blush creep on her face, but she kept her face impassive. Somebody might actually notice that she's having an uncomfortable battle going on her brain right now! _That's insane! Why would I forget that Rei is my boyfriend? And for whom! For Lantis-chan! That's outrageous! Lantis-chan is my friend! He's my very good friend!_

_Oh yeah? Search your heart. Do you really feel friendship only for your co-professor? Don't be a hypocrite, Hikaru. Somehow, your very good friend Lantis-chan has found a way to sit in a very comfortable position on your heart, almost as comfortable as how Rei is sitting inside your heart as well. _

_And you know what? Rei might just be thrown out of your heart any day now…_

She gulped. She didn't dare answer that last comment. Instead she blocked off any thoughts and just concentrated on her ramen until she was finished.

When done, she looked at Lantis and scarlet eyes locked with purple ones.

"Anou, Lantis-chan, if you will excuse me and Rei…we must get going now," she said, managing to keep her voice from breaking.

Maybe it was just her imagination playing tricks on her, but she swears that she saw a flicker of disappointment from his eyes when she bid her farewell, "Very well then," he stood up, and she and Rei stood up as well.

He offered his hand to Rei, which Rei took amiably and they shook hands. "It was really nice knowing you, Rei-san,"

Rei smiled, "The pleasure is all mine, Lantis-san. I hope to see you again anytime,"

Lantis nodded. Then he turned to Hikaru and nodded, "See you tomorrow at school, Hikaru-chan,"

She gave him a curt nod, then offered a feeble smile, "Ohayou, Lantis-chan, and sayonara," she answered. Then she left the restaurant with Rei on her side.

_Lantis-chan …_

And then her conscience's last words came painfully back on her…

_And you know what? Rei might just be thrown out of your heart any day now…_

- - - - - - - - - -

Lantis walked around the park just a few blocks away from the college. He has his hands on his sweat pant's pockets, and he has his head bowed down low. When he saw a pebble on his way, he kicked it with all his might and scowled at the flying stone.

_Mizu-tamari no naka wo kumo ga oyoide yuku Oroshita bakari no reinkooto_

_Harajuku wa nichiyou akai benchi no ue shizuka ni hohoemu koibito-tachi_

"Get out of my way," he grumbled. He continued on with his walk until he saw a pond.

He stopped, and picked a few stones from the ground. He threw one stone at the center of the pond, and he watched as the stone drew a ripple of water around where it hit the water until the wave started to close down. Just as the final current of water was vanishing, he threw in another stone, this time with much force, creating a bigger wave on the center of the pond. But he still has that scowl on his face, and in a manner very far from the typical Lantis, he started talking to no one in particular about the thoughts that played on his mind ever since that painful Saturday morning.

_Anamone no hana ga yurete hito-shizuku mizu wo otosu Hoozue wo tsuita mama watashi wa hitori mite 'ru _

"Just what the heck is wrong with my life? First I lost my brother to the woman that he loves, and then I lost the woman of my dreams. But then, I got another life here, and as a bonus I have my brother back and my sister-in-law. But then, I didn't get to see immediately the woman of my dreams. But when I saw her, when I actually was able to find her again, disaster was still on my side because she completely forgot everything about me and she even has a boyfriend. Now, tell, me, what's wrong with fate that has caused me nothing but tragedy and pain and sadness?"

When nobody answered, as expected, he threw all the stones down on the pond, and then slammed his palms at the iron fence surrounding the pond.

_Watashi no naka no chikyuu toki wo oshimu you ni yukkuri yukkuri mawatte yuku _

"I only ask of one thing, that my Hikaru come back to me again and love me again as she loved me before, but why is it that such simple wish is hard to acquire? Why does my friends have to be together and happy with the ones that they love and fate leave me here out in the cold, dark cell of loneliness that's slowly eating up my whole life?"

"Why does fate have to throw Hikaru back at my face again, but without her memory of me or anything about our times together? Why? _Why me!_" he screamed in frustration.

_Dare ka to itai kedo dare to mo itaku nai Nee Naze kokoro wa kimagure na no _

It's a good thing that there was no one else in that part of the park with him, for whoever heard him or saw him would think that he's going nuts. But, what the heck! He was really _going_ nuts anyway!

"And why does fate have to be so cruel of deciding on making me and Hikaru just good old plain _friends_! After all that we've been through, after all the love that we've shown each other, we would just end up as _friends!_ And what's worse is that I have to watch her in the arms of another man. What more could be worse than that!" he went on. Finally, his tirades rub off him and he slumped down, drained out of energy. He leaned heavily on the iron fence and propped his head on his arms, which were on his knees.

"Why can't I just live my life like before? Why can't I just be happy with Hikaru? Why I can't say to Hikaru that I love her, that I need her in my life, more than I needed anybody? Why I can't experience again the blissful feeling of being in love and being loved? Why…? Why is happiness hard to find…? Why can't happiness find me…?" he silently continued.

_Ame no hi no hana no you ni Na mo shiranu hana no you ni _

_Hageshiku soshite yowaku saite itai to omou _

If his friends would see him now, they'd freak out. He lay in a heap by the iron fence, his whole disposition shouting out one of defeat and failure. Tears were falling endlessly from his anguish-ridden eyes, tears that he was constantly wiping off with the back of his hand, but to no avail. For a long time, he just sat there, his thoughts in wild disarray, his feelings vulnerable as his senses were on the verge of losing. And somehow, when the wind blew and carried away a few strands of his hair away from his eyes, he somewhat felt better than he did a few moments ago.

_Mizu-tamari no naka wo kumo ga oyoide yuku yukkuri yukkuri kiete yuku _

After another five minutes, he finally looked up to see if there was somebody else on his spot. He found no one and nothing. Sighing, he finally stood up, and brushed the last rolls of tears that had fallen from his eyes. He got his hanky from his back pocket and blew his nose to ease the breathing on his chest. Then he walked away from the pond.

_Hikaru…_

_Have I totally lost you…?_

He looked up on the sky and from his position; he saw a vision of her face up on the clouds, smiling down on him.

_Can't I do something to help you remember the past?_

_Can't I do something to make you remember that once in your life, in your very young life, you loved and cared for a Kailu naming Lantis who lived in another world?_

_Can't I do something, anything, at all…?_

_Watashi no naka no chikyuu toki wo oshimu you ni yukkuri yukkuri mawatte yuku_

- - - - - - - - - -

From her vantage point on the terrace, Hikaru has a perfect view of Kawasaki at this time of the night. With all the lights coming from every establishment, shops, restaurants, amusement parks, offices, schools and houses, Kawasaki looked like it was dressed up in heavy cloaks of Christmas lights ready for the birth of Christ. She took a sip of her progressively getting colder coffee and then sat on her favorite reclining chair at the corner of the terrace. She has a lot of thinking to do for the night.

First were the disturbing "flashes", as she calls it. Those "views" of herself, Umi, Fuu and Lantis in armor gear really got the best of her thinking mind. After tossing and turning everything that her mind holds, she really can't place those…_dresses_ that she saw in her "dreams".

_And why, for the love of God, am I seeing Umi-chan, Fuu-chan and Lantis-chan in those dresses, and then I also see myself, a younger version of myself, when in fact, I only saw those three now?_

_Did I live a past life with them that's why I'm so attached to them…? That's why I befriended them easily? But why only remember now?_

_Because you only saw them now, that's why!_ Her logical mind answered back.

She took a sip again on her coffee, and gazed out on Kawasaki's night sky. _Do they remember me also? Are they having those flashbacks too?_

"I need to call 'kaasan," she muttered, and then went to the living room and into the phone and dialed their home phone number in Tokyo.

"Moshi moshi," her mother answered after a few rings.

""Kaasan," she answered.

"Oh, Hikaru-chan! How are you? Where are you calling? From your apartment?" her mother immediately asked, excitement flooding on her voice.

Hikaru found herself chuckling despite her earlier gloomy thoughts. "I'm fine, 'Kaasan, never been better. Everything's going well and I'm adjusting real well on my work here as a Biology teacher. And yes, I'm calling from my apartment. But 'Kaasan…"she trailed off, hanging her words in the air.

Her 'Kaasan sensed her reluctance, so her 'Kaasan pressed on, "Yes, Hikaru-chan? What's troubling you?"

She took a deep breath, calling forth all the courage she needed to break a question like she was about to to her mother, "'Kaasan, I'm having those flashbacks again like before…" she whispered on her other end of the line.

Her mother's line went deathly silent. She only heard of her mother's rugged, uneven breathing, and she heard a crackling noise on the background, indicating that her mother just gripped the phone. **_Tightly_**.

"Uh, 'Kaasan, did I say something wrong?" she finally asked after the silence.

She heard the large intake of air that her mother did, and she was puzzled. _Why's 'Kaasan acting like what I said was the most astonishing thing that she has ever heard on her entire life?_ Her mind asked.

"Hikaru-chan …I wish I could explain, but…" was her mother's vague answer and she fell into a deeper sense of confusion. _'Kaasan is acting real weird today!_

"Okay 'Kaasan, I understand. If you don't want to talk about it, okay. So, how are you and 'Tousan doing there in the dojo? Got any students to sign up on his class?" she averted their conversation.

She heard another deep sigh from her mother, and answered in a much lighter voice, "Oh, your father's dojo is doing just fine. In fact, Satoru-kun and Masaru-kun visited us a few nights ago. They said that Kakeru-kun wanted to come as well, but Maliana-chan's pregnancy is very critical, and the couples were taking every precautionary measure just to make sure that the baby will be born alive and well,"

She laughed, which caused her mother to laugh as well, "Gomen nasai, if I'm unable to visit you and 'Tousan there in the dojo. It's just that…I'm having such a wonderful life here in Kawasaki, and I'm currently enjoying my new-found freedom!" she suddenly turned melodramatic. In fact, a few traces of tears sprung from her eyes, and she quickly blinked them back.

On the other end of the line, she heard her mother chuckle, but she could sense a certain deep longing and sadness from the laugh, "Don't mind it, Hikaru-chan. We're happy if you're happy. And besides, for the past 23 years of your life you've been under our protection and care. It's about time you learn to spread your wings and fly, 'Karu-chan," her mother responded.

This time, she was unable to stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks. She felt her chest tighten with so much emotion and she was unable to reply back to her mother.

Her mother only laughed, "Oh, Hikaru-chan, you're very emotional, that's why it was very hard for your brothers to let you on your own there in Kawasaki, alone and new to the surroundings. That was why they miss you very much, but they also wanted you to grow up on your own and experience the joys of being an adult and a true free person. But that still does not keep them from missing you so much, 'Karu-chan,"

Her initial answer was a hiccup. _Damn these tears!_ She silently cursed. After a few more sniffs and coughs to clear her throat, she finally found her voice to answer, "I miss them so much as well. But then again, I cannot exchange my freedom here on their over protectiveness, you know,"

Another laugh from her mother, "Hai, I know what you mean. If I were on your shoes, I'd never trade my freedom from the restraints of your brothers. Sometimes, they were too much over protective of you, especially Kakeru-kun and Masaru-kun, but then again, your father and I was very loose on you, so I guess your brothers took the liberty of restraining you and confining you inside the family,"

She finally managed another chuckle, and pretty soon, she was laughing her heart out again, "This talk is really easing out my heart again, 'Kaasan," she commented.

"Why? Aren't you feeling alright that's why you called?" there was a note of concern on her mother's voice.

She shook her head even though she knew that her mother will not see her, "It's nothing like that. It's just that…I'm quite confused with the…you know…flashbacks I'm having…"

Her mother was silent for a moment. Then, with obvious forced joyfulness, she finally answered, "Don't mind it, Hikaru-chan, maybe it's just your mind playing tricks on you. I'm sure it will be gone soon,"

She suppressed a sigh that was about to escape from her throat. _I guess I should stop pressing the matter to 'Kaasan. Seems like I won't be getting any answers right now,_ "Okay, 'Kaasan, whatever you say. By the way, I have to hang up now. I have an early class tomorrow, and it's getting late. I'm sure you wanted to take a rest as well,"

The usual calm voice of her mother answered her back, "Okay. We'll see you in some time, 'ne? Take care my child. Sleep well,"

"Give my regards to 'Tousan, and you two take care as well," she answered, and then hang up. She sighed, and picking up her cup of coffee from the railings, she got up and went inside her house, closing the French windows after her.

Meanwhile, on the Shidou household in Tokyo, Shidou Hajime was rushing across the house to go to her husband who was still at the dojo, meditating. When she reached the dojo, she took a deep breath first before coming inside.

Shidou Haido was quickly pulled from his meditation and looked at the worried face of his wife. He quickly stood up from the tatami mat he was seated in and rushed to Hajime.

"Hajime-chan, what is it?" he asked. He was already growing concerned due to his wife's restlessness.

"Haido-chan, Hikaru-chan just called-" she started.

Somehow, some of Haido's concerns eased down, "And what seems to be the problem? And besides, why didn't she talk to me? I miss her very much too, you know," he answered.

Hajime shook her head, the concern on her face growing, "Demo that's not it. She was asking me if I knew anything of why she was having her…'flashbacks' again, like before…"

Haido fell silent. He dropped his eyes down on the floor, and he sighed deeply. "I knew this thing might happen in the near future…" he trailed off.

Hajime sighed too, indicating her agreement. "Do you think it's time that we tell her the truth?" she bravely asked.

Her husband looked at her eyes, and she could see clearly in the depths of his eyes the anguish that he has been keeping inside for nine years now. "In time, Hajime-chan…in time…"

"Do you wish to have Satoru-kun, Masaru-kun and Kakeru-kun at our side when we finally tell her the truth?" she inquired again.

Haido sighed. "Hai. At least they'll be able to explain to Hikaru better than I could," he answered.

- - - - - - - - - -

Another day at the college, and Umi, Fuu, Ascot and Ferio were already aware of the big changes in Lantis.

First, he did not come to school with them. Instead he arrived at the Faculty Room just as the bell rang.

Second, he was a complete mess. His hair was tousled, as if he didn't bothered brushing it after taking a bath. The only neat thing on him was his clothes, which were neatly pressed. But then, his face was a different story. He was still unemotional and cold, but he was **_colder_** than usual. There were dark rings under his eyes, and whiskers were sprouting from his chin, indicating that he hasn't shaved that morning.

Third, and the most disturbing of all, was the haunted look on his eyes. They were almost bloodshot and glassy, and there was an eerie air on him that others do not pick up easily unless they were very close to Lantis.

The group stared at one another before focusing their gaze back at the already seated raven-haired man. Umi nodded at the others and they resumed their work. Nobody asked Lantis what's wrong. For the time that they were together, they learned that the amethyst-eyed guy was pretty much like Hikaru; he keeps his secrets to himself and tries to solve everything by himself. But then, if his load was too heavy for him to carry alone, that's the time that he turns to his friends for help, which they were glad to give.

And so, for the whole day, they just observed him. Because their schedules were almost the same, it was easy for them to keep track of the other changes in Lantis that day. He didn't eat his lunch, and he was more quiet than the usual.

Plus, there was this certain **_look_ **that he was casting Hikaru whenever the redhead was at the room. That's the time that they finally concluded that Lantis' problem has got to do with Hikaru.

They also observed that ever since Lantis arrived that morning, Hikaru has a mild frown on her face, especially when her eyes crosses Lantis' path. When he arrived, her face instantly glowed, but after taking a second look at him, her smile turned into a slight scowl. She followed him with her eyes as he made his way to his desk. When she was about to go to her class at 8:20 that morning, she gave Lantis a quick glance before going out the room.

All these didn't escaped Umi and Fuu's observant eyes, and they were wondering about it.

"What could have happened to Hikaru and Lantis?" Umi asked tiredly.

Fuu sighed then propped her elbows on the table and leaned her chin on her hands. "I was wondering that myself, Umi-san. Lantis-san was really different this morning, and Hikaru-chan was fighting for self-control as to whether she should approach Lantis-san or let him be like that. It was like she was on the verge of following her head or following her heart,"

Umi nodded her agreement, "Yeah, and that's really weird. I mean, we already know that Lantis' problem is about Hikaru, but what I can't comprehend is why Hikaru's acting as if she does not know anything about Lantis' problem. You know what I mean?"

Fuu nodded, "Hai. And I even observed that even Hikaru-san has a problem herself, you know. And the only solution to her problem is Lantis-san,"

"I wonder what it is…"

"We could rack our brain for any possible answers, but only Lantis-san and Hikaru-chan knows them,"

Sigh. "Yeah, I know, I jut wish we could do something to help them, you know…"

Sigh again. "I also wish for the same thing, Umi-san…"

- - - - - - - - - -

By the end of the classes, Lantis quickly went out his classroom and headed towards the parking lot. He was about to gun his motorcycle engine and rev his way towards his apartment when he saw a crumpled figure at the other side of the parking lot of the college. He immediately pulled up his helmet and looked steadily at the figure. His heart came up to his throat when he realized who it was.

"Hikaru!" he shouted, then sprinted across the unusually empty parking lot. He was about to contemplate on why the parking lot was empty at this time of the day, dismissal time, when he remembered that this was the newly constructed parking lot a few meters away from the college. He quickly dismissed the thought and instead focused his attention as Hikaru's crumpled form became visible. He slid to where she was kneeling and placed two hands on her shoulders to look her in the eye.

"Hikaru, Hikaru!" he called out frantically.

Hikaru slowly raised her eyes, and what met his eyes made his heart crumple.

There were beads of perspiration on her forehead, and she was apparently trembling. She has both her hands on her head, and her eyes were bloodshot, seemingly from the pain that she was feeling.

"L-Lantis-chan …" she greeted. She attempted to smile, but her lips turned up on a grimace instead as her clutch on her head tightened. Lantis noted that her knuckles have turned white.

"Daijobou desu ka, Hikaru? What's the matter?" he asked, searching her face.

"M-my h-h-head…" she trailed off, and then she slumped forward in a dead faint on his open arms. He caught her easily and lightly tapped her face.

"Hikaru, Hikaru! Wake up!" he called, but she was unresponsive beneath his arms. Looking around, he found no one in the parking lot. So he wasted no time, carried her in his arms, and quickly walked to where his motorcycle was parked. He placed the helmet on her and then positioned her in front of him, before he started up his motorcycle and went away.

He dialed a number on his cell phone and placed the apparatus on his ear.

"Moshi moshi Lafarga, are you in your clinic?"

The other person on the other end of the line chuckled, "Hai, Lantis, I am. Why? Do you have a patient for me?"

"Hai. I'm bringing someone over. She suddenly fainted while clutching her head, and I'm frantic to bring her to you. We're on our way," he answered.

Lafarga was quiet. He was serious when he answered Lantis, "That sounds serious, Lantis. Hurry up, before something bad happens to her,"

"Familiar with this kind of ailment?" he asked, as he turned a corner at an intersection and then revved up his motor faster.

"Kind of. Just hurry up and don't waste any time. Every second counts," Lafarga retorted.

"Okay. I'll hang up now," Lantis answered, and then he focused on his driving and occasionally glances at Hikaru who was still fast asleep in his arms.

- - - - - - - - - -

"Lantis, that's…." Lafarga trailed off, looking at Hikaru as if she was a ghost.

Lantis sighed then placed her down on the hospital bed. "Yeah. I forgot to mention that Hikaru was the one I'm bringing over here. And she's in danger,"

Lafarga's face brightened a little bit, "Wait 'till Caldina knows this. She'll be thrilled!"

Lantis shook his head. "She does not remember us," he countered silently.

Lafarga became silent. He looked closely at Hikaru and then at Lantis, "She's got amnesia?"

Lantis shrugged, "Don't know for sure. Now, cure her, onegai shimasu,"

Lafarga nodded, and then pulled the curtain to separate Hikaru's bed from Lantis.

Lantis stood up from where he was and paced around the room. Every minute he would stop in front of the curtain, tempted to burst on Lafarga and Hikaru, but he held back and just resumed his pacing. After for what seemed like an hour, Lafarga finally pushed the curtains again. He went to his desk and got out his hanky to wipe off the sweat on his brow.

"Well?" Lantis asked, now unable to restrain himself.

Lafarga took a seat, and motioned for Lantis to take a seat as well. Lantis followed reluctantly. The seriousness on Lafarga's face was beginning to make him feel nervous.

"That was a very unusual case of migraine, but I'm sure that there's more to her migraine than I actually can see. She fainted, and that's already a bad sign. I would want to know her health history, if this same 'migraines' attacked her in the past and what medication her former doctor has given her. I think you should contact her family or at least someone close to her,"

Lantis took a deep breath. "I don't have any contact numbers with me, but I think Umi and Fuu would be a big help," he answered, then pulled out his cell phone again and dialed Umi's number.

"Umi, do you have any contact numbers of Hikaru's parents or brothers? Or maybe Rei's?"

"Wait just a second," was Umi's reply, and he heard in the background that she asked Fuu about it and Fuu was giving Umi a number. Seconds later, Umi came back on the line.

"09179527565 is Rei's cell phone number, but Fuu does not have any number of her parents or brothers. Why?" Umi answered.

He took a deep breath again. He seems to be getting a lot of deep breaths for that day, "We're at the hospital, at Lafarga's clinic to be exact. I saw Hikaru at the parking lot this afternoon, and when I approached her she was down on all four, clutching her head tightly. Then she fainted and I rushed her here at Lafarga's clinic. Would you mind coming down here? I'm very much shocked here, and it does not help that my friends are not here with me,"

He heard Umi's sharp intake of breath, then he felt her nod, "O-okay. Fuu and I will be over there in 20 minutes. I'm afraid Ascot and Ferio won't be able to make it because they're still busy with school stuff, but we'll leave a message for them,"

He nodded as well. "Okay. Go here as fast you two could. Hikaru needs you two here," and with that he ended the call to dial another number.

"Moshi moshi" Lantis heard Rei's voice on the other end of the line.

"Moshi moshi, Rei-san, this is Lantis, remember me?" he answered.

There was a pause, "Lantis-san! What's up?" Rei finally answered.

"Not actually fine. Listen, I'm here at Ooganti Clinic, just a 20 minutes drive from Shikigoku College, and, gomen nasai, but Hikaru's with me,"

"Hikaru! What happened to her!" Rei frantically asked.

He felt a slight twitch on his heart, and gripped his cell phone tighter, "I really can't quite comprehend what had happened, but I saw her crumpled on the parking lot, clutching her head and then she lost her consciousness and I rushed her here at my friend's clinic. Onegai, do hurry up. She might wake up any minute now," he answered.

Rei noticed the urgency on his voice, so the guy choked all the other questions bothering on his mind and just nodded, "Okay, I'll be there. Arigatou gozaimasou for bringing her there, Lantis-san," and with that Rei hang up.

Lantis placed his cell phone down and then rubbed his aching temple. When he raised his eyes, he was met with a questioning look from Lafarga.

"Who was that Rei? Why did you have to call him and inform him of Hikaru's condition?" Lafarga asked.

Lantis sighed and then leaned his head on the wall. "Rei is Hikaru's boyfriend ever since college," he answered simply.

Lafarga's eyes seemed to pop out from it sockets because of shock. "B-bo-boyfriend?" he stuttered.

All Lantis could do was nod. "Hai. And please, stop asking any more questions. I'm really worried for Hikaru. I'll fill you in on other details one of this days, but onegai, not now," he pleaded.

Lafarga nodded, and then he clumped his mouth shut and checked on Hikaru again. After 20 minutes, the door flew open and in came a frenzied Umi and Fuu.

"Where is she? What happened to her? Is she alright?" Fuu asked worriedly, looking around the room. When her eyes fell on the sleeping figure of Hikaru, she quickly rushed to the redhead's side, Umi following on her heel. They checked on Hikaru for possible injuries and when they were satisfied that she was unharmed, they sighed in relief and turned to Lantis and Lafarga, who were seated on the sofa staring at them.

Umi swallowed the lump on her throat before getting out the question from her chest, "Is she gonna be all right?" she asked, repeating Fuu's question earlier, almost fearfully.

Lantis averted his eyes and directed his stare on the floor, while Lafarga cleared his throat and stood up. "I don't know for sure, girls, of what would happen to her. I need her health history, to draw my conclusion on her ailment. But I do hope to Kami-sama that she's all right and fine," he answered.

Umi and Fuu still looked worried, but they managed to smile at Lafarga. Lafarga pulled the two for an embrace, and they easily warmed up to the big man, "Oh Lafarga, we're just very worried for her," Umi breathed in, closing her eyes.

Lafarga nodded, "I know, we all do. But we can do nothing but wait for her to wake up and confirm to us that she's felling better and okay. So please, stop worrying. This makes me and Lantis even more worried than we already were," he answered.

The two girls nodded, and they let Lafarga pull them down on the sofa beside Lantis. He placed a hand on both Umi and Fuu's shoulders and squeezed tight, "She'll make it through, don't worry too much. After all, we know for sure that she's still the Hikaru that we know of nine years ago, minus the amnesia. So I know that she's still the tough, little redhead that we all love so much," he added, smiling at them.

Umi and Fuu finally managed a feeble smile, and then they looked once more at Hikaru's sleeping figure. After ten minutes, there was a knock on the door, and then Rei's head appeared.

"Lantis-san?" he asked, before going inside the clinic. He stood up, and then strode over to where Rei stood and offered his hand for a handshake.

"She's over there," he answered pointing at where Hikaru was lying. Rei accepted his hand before going to Hikaru.

Rei gently stroked Hikaru's hair and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "Oh koishii, we thought your migraine was already cured!" he groaned. This captured Lafarga's attention, and the blonde guy quickly stood up from his position and approached Rei.

"She's had previous migraine attacks?" Lafarga asked. Even Lantis has a frown on his face, and Umi and Fuu has concern etched on their eyes.

Rei nodded, and then glanced back at Hikaru. "Yeah. Ever since high school, Hajime-san told me that occasionally, Hikaru has migraine attacks that usually result to unconsciousness or fainting spells. But the doctors in Morioka has seen nothing wrong on her brain, so they ruled out the possibility of brain tumor or anything graver than that, and decided that her ailment is indeed, migraine," then he glanced at the group, "But I'm still worried. Her migraine attacks at anytime, anyplace, and I'm not always there to take care of her. The reason why I cut my research on Philippines short was because I found out from her brother Kakeru that she's living alone here in Kawasaki. I followed her here to take care of her, but when her migraine attacked I was not there," then he focused his eyes to Lantis, "So I thank you very much from the bottom of my heart, Lantis, for taking Hikaru here in the clinic. I'm forever in debt of your goodness and kind heart,"

Lantis shook his head, "That was nothing. Hikaru-chan is a friend, so I care for her as a friend would," he answered. _Friend?_

He mentally squirmed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Umi and Fuu cast him a disgusted look, and even Lafarga has that amused look in his eyes.

"We should just let her take her rest. It would be better that way," Lafarga suggested, then pulled the curtain to keep Hikaru from being disturbed on her sleep.

Rei sighed. "I'm staying here, if you don't mind Dr…."

"Ooganti, Ooganti Lafarga,"

Rei nodded, "Dr Ooganti. I'll stay here,"

"And so are we," Lantis, Umi and Fuu answered in unison.

Lafarga nodded. "I'll just call my wife to cook us supper," and with that he dialed his home phone number to talk to Caldina.


	7. Chapter 7: Confrontations and Confession

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Eeehhh…gomen nasai minna…it's been a long time since the last update! Argh! The only excuse I have is that it's been a hell of six months for me, what, with all the adjustments I have to make because Iof my internship…but--! I can promise you, this time for sure, that I'd be able to update as soon as possible. Hehehe… anyways, just enjoy the new chapter. Here's the big revelation behind Hikaru's amnesia.

**DISCLAIMER:** MKR belongs to CLAMP. I'm just a pathetic fan still pinning for this magnificent anime. Am I the only one here whi wishes there's a third season of this anime!

**Chapter 7: CONFRONTATIONS AND CONFESSIONS**

Early Saturday morning.

Instead of being in the park, jogging and relaxing, Lantis was in front of the steering wheel, with Umi, Fuu, Ascot and Ferio at the passenger seats. They were on their way to the Shidou Dojo at Tokyo, to confront Hikaru's parents and clear the cloud that was hanging in their head for some time now.

"Are you okay with the driving, Lantis?" Ferio asked from the back seat.

Lantis smiled at the rear view mirror before focusing his eyes again at the road. "I'm okay. After all, I drive a motorcycle and that's a much harder piece of machinery to control than this four-wheel drive,"

Ferio chuckled. He leaned back on his seat and placed an arm around Fuu's shoulder. "Just asking. If you need to take a rest, I'd be happy to switch places with you," he offered.

Lantis nodded, and then pushed down on the gasoline harder as the car sped away the streets of Kawasaki. The car was cloaked in heavy silence as they made their way to Tokyo. Nobody attempted to start a small talk. They all seemed to be thinking of the upcoming confrontations with Hikaru's parents, because there was a nervous energy in the air. They only stopped on the road twice; first was to eat then second was to fill up the tank of the car. After that, they rode the comfortable silence between them towards Tokyo.

When they reached the outskirts of Tokyo, Lantis looked at the rear view mirror and his eyes met sapphire ones. "Where to?" he asked.

Umi nodded forward, "Just go straight ahead. They live near the Imperial Palace, about seven kilometers away," she answered.

Lantis nodded, and then kept on driving. It was well past noon when they reached the Imperial Palace.

"Turn left, then on the first junction turn left again, and then right, and then drive forward. Their Dojo was at the end of the street, beside a small lake," Umi instructed.

"Got it," Lantis replied, and then followed Umi's directions. Pretty soon, they stopped in front of a sprawling traditional Japanese dojo. They got out of the car and stood in front of the gate, which was made of wood and cement.

"It's been a long time since we last saw this place, 'ne, Umi-san?" Fuu commented, sweeping her eyes over the infrastructure.

Umi nodded. "Yeah. I miss this place a lot,"

Ferio searched the gate for a doorbell. "There's nothing in here that would be useful to us to let the dwellers of that dojo become aware of our arrival, guys," was his long statement.

Umi shrugged her shoulders then went to the corner of the gate that Ferio missed to investigate, "They uses chimes connected to every part of the house," she explained, and then pulled down a red rope several times then went to her position again. After several minutes, they heard footsteps, and then the gate opened, and out came a middle-aged woman, about 55 years old in age, dressed in traditional kimono, and have a face that resembles so much like Hikaru's.

The woman looked at them then smiled openly, "Ohayou! What can I do for you?" she politely asked.

The group scampered and bowed down, and it was Fuu who answered the woman's inquiry. "Oh, is this is the Shidou Dojo?"

The woman nodded, "Hai. I am Shidou Hajime, the woman of the household," and before Fuu could answer, the woman clamped a hand to her mouth and smiled sheepishly at the group, "Oh, how impolite of me! To think I reached this age and learned nothing of the basic etiquettes! Please come in! Gomen nasai, I was so engrossed in getting your names that I forgot to let you in our house!" she exclaimed, and then ushered the group inside.

The group looked at one another, and a knowing smile passed between the five friends. Now they know where Hikaru got her grins and smiles.

They walked up a five-meter concrete path, with plants, flowering trees, fruit-bearing trees and a big sakura tree at the front lawn. The grounds were covered in green Bermuda grass, and there were orchids and other sorts of hanging plants in the garden. The front lawn was some sort of a mini park or something, with benches scattered at the grounds.

Hajime noticed them looking around, so she stopped in front of the sakura tree and looked back at the group. "My only daughter, Hikaru, loves plants, and she was the one who planted all these. She took care and nourished every plant in this house, and when she decided to live in Kawasaki, I continued her hobby and added some other plants, like that rose bush over there," she said, pointing at the far end of the garden where a rose was in full bloom, "And that santan shrub, which Hikaru acquired from a Filipino friend who knows of her hobby," Hajime finished.

The group looked at one another again. They continued their walk and finally they reached the house. Hajime opened the rice paper doors, and she let them in on the family receiving room.

"Before anything else, Hajime-san, I'm Asakawa Ascot,"

"My name is Fujuiwara Ferio,"

"Likaura Lantis,"

"Ryuuzaki Umi, Ma'am"

"Hououji Fuu, Hajime-san, pleased to meet you,"

"I'm pleased to meet you too. Wait just here. I'll go get you some drinks. What would you have?" Hajime excused, smiling at the group.

They all smiled back at the kind woman, "Tea, please," Ascot answered for all of them. Hajime nodded then dashed off to go to the kitchen. Then, a tall man with a mop of red hair entered the room. His _men _was on his right hand, and his _dô_ was still wrapped tightly around his body. On his left hand was a three-foot long _shinai_, the longest that the group has ever seen.

His eyes were light brown, his nose a little pointed, with thin lips, square jaws and broad shoulders that gave him a dignified look. Umi guessed that the man was already in his 50's, maybe 57, but he was still a strong-looking man. She swallowed hard and looked at Fuu.

_That is the type of man I wouldn't want to argue with,_ was her eyes message. Fuu stifled a giggle, and the two girls looked back at the man.

Upon reaching the group, the man bowed down slightly, and offered a small smile at them, which cracked a few folds on the sides of his mouth and eyes, giving him a more relaxed look. "Ahh, so you were the ones who rung the chimes, 'ne? I am Shidou Haido, the man of the household. I suppose that Hajime, my wife, has fetched you a drink and something to eat?"

It was Lantis who nodded this time, "Hai, Sir. Hajime-san is at the kitchen already," he answered.

Haido chuckled, "Oh, onegai call me Haido or Haido-san, to which that you prefer," he requested, a twinkle in his eye.

The group smiled back, and Haido sat at the space between Lantis and Ascot.

"So, what brought you here?" he asked, looking at the group. They were about to answer when they heard a rustle from the door, and Hajime entered.

"Haido-chan, where is your manners? We should let the guests eat first, and then we start a conversation," the woman gently scolded, but then she winked at the five friends as she set down the tray of foods.

Haido rolled his eyes but said nothing. When everybody was settled, they started a light conversation as the Shidous let the five finish their food. Then Hajime cleared the table and was about to head back at the kitchen when Haido's voice stopped her.

"Let it be, Hajime-chan. We should entertain the guests first, or have you forgotten your manners too?" he retorted coolly.

Hajime glared at her husband, "I'm perfectly fine with this! After all, you are the man of the household. It's your duty to entertain the guests," she snapped, then tuned her back to proceed to the kitchen.

Haido was left with the group laughing. "Forgive Hajime, she's really short-tempered and very persistent. You should meet our only daughter, Hikaru. She's very much like her mother, except that Hikaru's got the patience of a priest and is very, very naïve and child-like in some ways," he said, looking fondly around the group.

The five friends looked at each other again and took this as a sign that they should start their questions. Lantis cleared his throat and looked directly at Haido.

"Haido-san, anou, the very reason that we are here is because of Hikaru," he started.

Haido looked surprised, "Oh, so you mean to say, you know Hikaru?"

Lantis nodded, "Hai. In fact, we," he said, gesturing his hands to Umi and the rest," Are her co-professors in Shikigoku College in Kawasaki. We are her very good friends," he finished. He inwardly cringed. _Friends…_ the word is very familiar to him now that he knows that there's no way that he and Hikaru could be lovers again.

"Oh," was all that Haido could say. He looked down at the tatami mat and fell silent. The group did not pressed, however. They wanted the confession to come from the father without any persuasion or anything. They just wanted the truth, because they know that the truth will set them free.

Hajime entered the room again, and she stopped on her tracks when she took notice of the serious air inside. "Is something the matter?" she asked, looking at his husband pointedly. When she got no reply, she turned her attention to the five. Lantis in turn cleared his throat again.

"We were just talking about Hikaru, Hajime-chan," he informed her.

Hajime nodded then took a sit beside her husband. "What about her?"

"We know Hikaru, Hajime-san," Lantis supplied, which caused the older woman to stop and look at her husband.

"Haido…?" there was that question in her voice that the five didn't quite understand. Haido lifted his head then nodded at Hajime.

"I'm going to tell them," he said. He then looked at Lantis straight, "You mean you know Hikaru just now or even from…before?"

Lantis nodded. "We know her ever since junior high. Umi and Fuu, were her best friends, but then, in high school, we suddenly lost track of her and had given up on searching her but by the start of this school year, we met her again at Shikigoku College, but she doesn't know us,"

Haido and Hajime exchanged looks again before Haido cleared his throat and looked among the group. "This thing has been weighing down our conscience for nine years now, and I think this is the right time for you to know the truth," he started.

"Nine years ago, when Hikaru was about to graduate from junior high, she discovered a very scandalous secret of our family,"

The others were silent, all waiting for Haido to continue, so Haido cleared his throat again and swallowed a lump before continuing, "She found out that I have a mistress,"

Umi and Fuu gasped lightly, but they didn't say anything. Haido's eyes became clouded as he looked out the window and recalled the tragedy that befell the family many years ago.

"She was devastated. My mistress went to this dojo to confront me, demanding me to choose between my family and her. I love my family and all, but I learned to love my mistress as well. I couldn't pick; it's a no-win situation. I'd be miserable whatever decision I make. And then I made up my mind that I'll live with my mistress for a few months, and try things out, and I explained everything that I decided in front of my mistress, Hajime, and Satoru. What I didn't know was that Hikaru was listening at the door, and when she heard of my decision, she threw open the door and…"

-----FLASHBACK-----

"'Tousan! Onegai, tell me that this is just a joke! Onegai tell me this is just a joke!" Hikaru exclaimed.

All four adults inside the family receiving room stood up, even Hajime who was silently crying, but the tears stopped flowing when she saw her daughter burst inside the room.

"Hikaru…such decision is irrevocable and cannot be changed…" he answered sadly, looking down at the floor.

Hikaru's eyes flashed with hatred, and nothing else. Her eyes were as fierce as eagle's and her hands were balled tightly into fists at her sides. Tears sprung from the corner of her eyes and some had already spilled to her cheeks, but she paid no heed to those as she continued looking angrily at her father.

"I hate you Shidou Haido!" she exclaimed, hatred and anger detectable in her voice, then ran out of the room.

"Hikaru!" he, Satoru and Hajime called, but she continued her descent and they just heard the loud banging of the front door indicating that Hikaru dashed out of the house.

-----END OF FLASHBACK-----

Hajime sighed, pain evident in her eyes, "She ran away. When she went out of the house, we thought that she'd be back by nightfall, that she just cooled off somewhere, on the river beside the Imperial Palace since that was her favorite spot, but when dusk came and she was still nowhere, we already grew worried and her brothers searched the whole area but they didn't found her. Haido and I had a nagging suspicion that she ran away, but we pushed the idea out of our minds because that's impossible and Hikaru won't do such a thing. But then, her brother Kakeru suggested that we look inside her room to look for clues, and so we did. Her clothes were still there, and all her other things, but Satoru looked inside her school bag and found out that her wallet was missing. We searched for her piggy back, and found it at the corner of her bed, penniless,"

Haido continued, his eyes downcast at the pain of remembering the past that haunted his conscience for nine years. "That confirmed our worst nightmare. She ran away. We were awake the whole night, calling friends and other relatives, asking them if they knew where Hikaru was. The next day, we already grew restless and helpless, so we went to the police to ask for help. They said they'd scout the whole area for her, but by afternoon they returned without her. So we just waited beside the phone, hoping it will ring and Hikaru will be on the other end of the line telling us that she wanted to go home now and just forget about everything. I also decided with all my heart that I'd stay with my family 'till the end, 'till my last breath, and I cut off all contacts with my mistress just for Hikaru to come back to us."

"And we did got a call that evening. But it was not from Hikaru. A man naming Kijiwara Saeki called, telling us that he was calling from Kôfu General Hospital, and that Hikaru was in grave danger. We rushed to Kofu as quickly as we could, and then we found out from the doctor and from Saeki-san as well that Saeki-san's car hit her, and she was in serious danger. She had a very dangerous concussion at the head, and the doctor predicted that she'd be having amnesia. When she woke up, she remembered nothing, not even us, her family. But after sometime, she finally remembered us. That's the time that we decided to move to Sapporo, to start a new life. But after a year, she still does not remember anything after her elementary days. Before school started at Sapporo, we consulted a psychiatrist and he suggested to us that the patient, Hikaru, probably does not want to remember anything from her past life. Or rather, her subconscious mind does not want to, called selective amnesia. So he suggested to us that he just hypnotize her. Give her a new life by erasing her memories. We could pick any 'life' that we wanted to implant on her mind, and that's it. She'll be a new Hikaru."

Hajime cleared her throat and stared at Umi and Fuu, "So we, together with her brothers, talked about it for two days and weighed the pros and cons. After that, we decided that it will do no harm to our little girl and we proceeded with the hypnotism. We erased all her memories of Tokyo and everything, and told her that we lived from the very start there in Sapporo. And that's the start of a new Shidou Hikaru," she finished.

The five friends were speechless. They were expecting Hikaru to be just suffering from amnesia, but they didn't expect her to be hypnotized and robbed off of her memories!

It was Umi who got her senses back immediately. "So. That's the reason why she does not recognize us?"

Hajime nodded. "Hai. But then again, when she was still in high school she would tell us that she's been having some sort of 'flashes', where in those flashes, she was still a little girl, other times she was playing with her dog Hikari in a spacious garden with a big sakura tree, but most of the time she would tell us that she's been having dreams of wearing a school uniform, mostly composed of red color with a big white bow in front, and she's talking to two girls, one in blue uniform the other in green, but they don't have faces. And then," she looked at Lantis, "She dreamt of you, or someone who looks very much like you," she said.

Lantis blinked. _So she still remembered me even after being hypnotized!_ His heart sang out joyfully.

"But if she dreamt of Lantis, why didn't she remember him?" Ascot asked, his hands on Lantis' shoulder.

"Because we intervened with every possibility that she might remember the past that we wanted to erase from her mind. Her will was very strong that we had to bring her to a second psychiatrist when she was in college to be hypnotized again. Because all throughout her high school, her dreams of the past interfered with her chances for a new life, and we're afraid that she'd wake up one morning with the memory of her past. After that second hypnotism, she had less and less of that flashes until it finally vanished. But she still remembered her high school life, and everything that we implanted on her mind on her fist hypnotism. But just recently…" Haido trailed off then looked at his wife for support.

"Just recently, she called, telling me that she had one of those 'flashes' again. And now I know why she had those flashes again. You guys, her friends from before, triggered her memory to remember the past again," Hajime finished.

"So…"

"So, we are ready now to tell her of the truth. Because we talked about everything again, and we thought that it was unfair for Hikaru to be robbed off of her past self, her past memories, her past life…"

"But how can you do that? Bring back her memories, I mean," Ferio asked.

Hajime smiled as Haido stood up from his sitting position. "Simple. We bring her back to Sapporo, to her first psychiatrist, and reverse the process. She'll have her past memories, plus her 'implanted' ones," Haido answered. He squatted down in front of Lantis to look the raven-haired man in the eye.

"And then you two would be happy with one another again,"

Lantis gaped. "Wh-what ma-ma-made you-you say tha-that, Haido-san?" he sputtered.

Haido smiled knowingly and brightly, "Oh, I'm Hikaru's father. When she told us that she dreamt of you, we were shocked. I thought 'so Hikaru has a special someone before the accident?' and I waited for her to speak more of you. After three more dreams, my wife and I established that you were her boyfriend that she left somewhere in the face of Tokyo. After that she started talking of you, Umi and Fuu, and then this continued until college until we got her hypnotized again and it stopped,"

"So Lantis-san, we know for sure that you two love each other, and would have been together now if not for her erased memories. I saw the emotion in your eyes when my wife told you that Hikaru have been dreaming of you, you know, and you're happy because even without her memories, she still remembered you and all,"

"Plus, even if she tells us that she's happy with Rei and their relationship, my wife and I know for sure that she's still looking for that _something_ that is lacking in her, and that is contentment. The contentment and fulfillment of being in the arms of the true person who loves her and cherishes her and whom she love and cherish in return,"


	8. Chapter 8: Memories That Haunt

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** And another one…

**DISCLAIMER: **Last time I checked, MKR still belongs to CLAMP…what do you think?

**Chapter 8: MEMORIES THAT HAUNT **

Hikaru looked up from her desk early Monday morning when she heard the door of the Faculty Room open. Her eyes instantly lit up when she saw Lantis enter the room, followed by Umi, Fuu, Ferio and Ascot. She stood up from her chair and approached Lantis as he settled down on his own chair.

"Ohayou gozaimasou, Lantis-chan!" she greeted joyfully.

Lantis looked up, and before her very eyes, he grinned at her that showed off his set of pearly white teeth. "Oh, ohayou too, Hikaru-chan! I see that you're well now. Has Lafarga given you any medications or specifications that you should rest?"

Hikaru blinked. This is the first time that Lantis has _grinned _at her, let alone finish a long sentence for just a simple 'good morning' greeting. "Oh! Yeah! Lafarga-san! He said I'm okay, no need to worry. I let him run some tests with my brain and he found nothing that would alarm me. Only a case of migraine at its gravest form. Hehe. Arigatou for asking!" she finally answered.

Lantis' smile stayed on his face as he skimmed her face with so much tenderness that only now has she seen from this unemotional man. "That's good. It would be a shame if we found out that you've got a severe illness," he said.

She just nodded. She didn't know what to say anymore! And then, as if on cue, her purpose on approaching Lantis early this morning came back to her, and the confusion written on her eyes instantly vanished, replaced by one of affection. "Anou, Lantis-chan, I wanted to thank you for bringing me over to that clinic last Thursday. If you weren't there at the parking lot when my migraine attacked, I would have passed out cold there, all alone, and God knows what could have happened to me. So, Lantis-chan, arigatou again for bringing me to the clinic, and for being there on time," she smiled softly, looking Lantis directly in the eyes.

As if his smile wasn't big enough, Hikaru saw that his lips twitched up for an even bigger grin, and the lines on the side of his eyes crinkled, "Do itashimashite, Hikaru. And given the chance, I'd do it again for you. It would always be my pleasure to help you in any way I can. I'm glad to be of service to you," _my love…_ he added silently.

Hikaru nodded again, lost at words. She noticed that Lantis called her just plain 'Hikaru', and the way he spoke her name gave her an unfamiliar tingling sensation. She felt her heart swell a bit when he just called her 'Hikaru' and not with the '–chan' suffix. It was very weird and all too new for her, but she remembered that she also felt that way during the time that they ate together at the restaurant on Ikuta Green Park and when they ate together at the ice cream parlor. But then…

She doesn't feel this way whenever she's with Rei…

To keep herself from thinking of things, she bowed down in front of Lantis in a gesture of goodbye. "See you later Lantis-chan and thank you again," she said, then turned her back on him and went back to her desk.

As soon as her rear touched the chair, she let her mind drift back to her 'odd feelings' whenever she's with Lantis.

The tingling sensation that course up and down her spine; her excitement, happiness, and sense of fulfillment; and lastly, the contentment and peace of mind, that never in her life had she ever felt, not even when she's with Rei.

She looked down at her open palms and sighed. Why does she have to feel like this? For a friend? But then…if she searched her heart…it's as if it already knew Lantis from before even if her mind screamed that she only met him today, at this college, in Kawasaki. Her heart, her instinct, and her gut feeling…all these tell her that somewhere in the past; she already met him, along with Ryuuzaki Umi and Hououji Fuu. Even Ferio and Ascot's faces seemed familiar.

She could still remember that tug in her heart she felt when she first met those five. Her gut feeling told her that they were familiar, that she already saw them somewhere before, and even were close to them, but she pushed that thought out of her mind and instead just concentrated on her work. She just let destiny and fate run its course. And then pretty soon she became friends with Umi-chan and Fuu-chan, and even with the snobbish Lantis-kun, who was known around the school for being picky on whom to speak with and be friends with.

She didn't expected to be _this_ close with Lantis, but it just happened. There even came a time that she forgot all about Rei and her relationship with him just because she's with Lantis and having fun. All the things that Rei didn't gave her, like attention, care and humor, she found in Lantis.

Plus that very disturbing contented feeling she felt whenever she's with him. She never felt that way towards Rei, and that's making her guilty as hell because even if she did nothing wrong, it was still unusual to find that feeling in somebody else and not on your boyfriend or husband. Maybe that's the reason why many husbands and wives file for a separation, because they couldn't find the contentment and happiness they're looking in their spouses. Some even resorted to having mistresses--

Her thoughts stopped in their tracks as her mind processed the word.

**Mistress…**

A blurry image of two women and two men, talking inside a room, flashed through her mind. She squinted her eyes and looked hard on her palm, trying to draw more pictures. And her mind did not disappoint her. She saw a spacious room, with sky blue rice paper doors in two opposite corners, and a few paintings and scrolls hanging on the walls. In the middle of the room sat two men and two women, their faces blurred and indistinct, seemingly in the middle of a heated discussion. She saw the biggest man in the room raise his fist in the air to silence everybody. The woman opposite him was crying, she guessed, because the woman's shoulders were shaking incessantly. The younger man, she guessed again, who was beside the distressed woman, seemed to be comforting the crying woman, for he placed a hand on the woman's shoulder to calm her down. When the older man spoke again, everybody fell silent. Then the paper doors opened, and in came a--

That was the end. Hikaru found herself breathing hard and sweating, as if she came from a long walk. She took several deep breaths to calm her racing heart, but blood still pumped heavily on her head.

_What was that all about!_ Her mind screeched. For the record, that was the longest 'flash' she had in her entire life, and the most disturbing of all. Her heart was still accelerating in her chest, but she felt calmer now than a few moments ago. She leaned back on her chair and closed her eyes, hoping for a few minutes of relaxation. Just then, her cell phone alarm vibrated, and she quickly switched off her phone and placed it inside her bag, before grabbing her things on top of her desk to go to her class.

The thinking would have to wait until this evening…

* * *

Umi and Fuu were about to board the latter's car when they saw Hikaru enter the parking lot. Fuu immediately waved at the redhead and called out.

"Hikaru-chan!"

Hikaru looked up, and when she saw the two, a small smile crossed her anxious face as her pace quickened.

"Hey guys. I wasn't expecting to see you," she commented, her face having the expression as if her mind was contemplating whether to be happy that she saw Umi or Fuu or feel the opposite.

Umi and Fuu smiled uncertainly, suddenly hesitant when they saw the queer expression on Hikaru's face. "Yeah. We were just on our way to Fuu's ophthalmologist to have a series of check-ups on her eyes. What about you? You…seemed preoccupied just a while ago," Umi answered, seeing that Fuu still held that hesitant face.

Hikaru reddened a bit, and she cast her eyes downward much to the surprise of the two. "Uhm…anou…I was just…thinking…" she silently answered. Then she raised her head up and smiled weakly at the two women. "Gomen for being rude, but I have to go. It was nice seeing you two here, though, but I really need to go. I would love to accompany you Fuu-chan to your check-up but…"

Fuu nodded knowingly, and she smiled a little more pleasantly at the flustered redhead. "It's okay Hikaru-chan, I understand. We must get going though, because we might be late for my appointment," she said.

Hikaru smiled once again, and then waved at them before she went away. The two, on the other hand, looked at each other first before going inside the car.

"Is she okay?" Umi asked, following Hikaru with her eyes as Fuu started the car and drove near the preoccupied redhead.

Fuu shrugged. "Beats me, Umi-san. All I know is that she's been acting weird all day long. Whenever she's inside the Faculty Room she was spaced out, as if thinking of something very deeply. But when I passed on one of her classes this afternoon, I saw that she was lively and in fact delivered her lesson very well, and her class enjoyed her lecture," she answered.

Umi frowned. They stopped at a red light and they faced each other with questions in their eyes. "So what could be her problem? Rei maybe?"

Fu shrugged again. The light has turned to green, and Fuu stepped on the gas to get the car going. "Maybe. Or it could concern other things, like her family, for instance," Fuu suggested.

"Impossible. We just talked to her mother and father this weekend, right? And there seems to be no problem at all," Umi countered.

Once again, Fuu just shrugged. "What else?"

Umi looked out the window and sighed. Her eyes roamed the stores lined up on the streets, with people coming in and out of different stores. "Her 'flashes' maybe?" she quietly asked, now turning her face to Fuu.

Fuu suddenly kept quiet. Her gaze stayed fixed on the road, but Umi noticed that her hands trembled a little bit. "Could be…do you think she's confused with all of this? You know…a part of her telling that she already knows us but another part telling her no…do you think she's starting to think that she's going nuts or something…?"

It was now Umi's time to shrug. "Maybe,"

Then silence. It was Umi who broke it, just as they were nearing Fuu's doctor's clinic. "I just wish…that I'm there when she feels confused, you know, to comfort her and somehow help her remember things from the past…"

"You and me both, Umi-san…you and me both…"

* * *

Hikaru's garage door instantly closed the moment she parked her car inside. She got out of the car and using the back door, she entered her split-level apartment. Dropping her keys on the countertop, she made her way towards the refrigerator. In one swift motion, she got a glass from her dishwasher and a pitcher of water out of the ref. Filling the glass with water, she gulped it down in one drink and placed the glass on the sink. Then she started undoing the buttons on her shirt as she headed towards her room. She plopped down her bed and sighed. Closing her eyes, she mused again on the events that took place that day.

It all started out fine. She even waited for Lantis to come so she can thank him personally for bringing her over to Ooganti Clinic. And because of that she was saved from further injury that might occur if she passed out alone on the school's new parking lot. But the moment Lantis **_smiled_** at her, she turned into a nutcase and looked like a fool in front of him.

_And what were those comparisons and the likes that I have been doing over the past days? What the heck was the meaning of all these! _She thought.

But as her mind worked again, she felt her eyes fell, and soon, she was drawn into the blackness and the world of the dreams…

* * *

_She found herself, young as a junior high school, standing face front on a glass window at the observatory deck of Tokyo Tower. She was dressed in white long-sleeved, fluffy blouse, with a red jacket on top and an oversized white bow in front, and a gray skirt that reached halfway her thighs. She had on a pair red, knee-length socks and black shoes. _

_A girl called her and asked her something, and based on the girl's face, the girl was expecting her to agree, but she just smiled and replied happily, much to the disappointment of the girls. Then the binoculars she was holding on suddenly rang, and she realized that she was out of time. When she rummaged to look for another hundred yens, a hand suddenly appeared beside her, and she saw a brunette, bespectacled girl, about the same age as she, giving her some money. When she accepted it, the brunette suddenly turned away, and she was left staring at the brunette. Then she marched up to thank the girl, but was suddenly trapped between walking students. Just then, her eyes met blue-ones, and the brunette turned her head to their direction, and all three of them locked gazes before an intense, blinding light surrounded them and a beautiful young lady appeared before them, tears streaming down her cheeks, her hands clasped as if in eternal prayer, and before her very eyes, she, the brunette and the blue-eyed girl were transported to another world._

_She saw a volcano, a huge mountain, and glorious mountains floating in the sky. The three of them were falling down fast from the sky then out of nowhere a flying fish caught them. It transported them to a plateau where she introduced her self and the two girls introduced themselves as well. _

_Then a short man in strange clothing walked out of the tree, and she was introduced to a mage. The mage gave them armors, and they continued on to their first journey. But before they could go any further, a middle-aged woman dressed in black blocked their way. She attacked the griffin they were on and were threatening to kill them three, when she stepped up and fired a spell at the woman. _

_The rest came out as a blur. She now saw them inside an armory, where a beautiful woman on orange armor was talking to them. Then she saw the three of them inside a monster-infested forest, when a green-haired man helped them. Next were battles with monsters from a brown-haired kid dressed in green and white garments, then two encounters with a pink-haired illusionist. _

_In one of those battles, she saw herself and her blue-haired companion attacking the brunette, and she seemed to be in a trance. Then the brunette defeated the illusionist, and she and the cerulean-eyed girl were freed. _

_After that was a clash with a strong magic swordsman, where she was bruised badly and her companions trapped in boulders of rocks. But she never gave up, and in the end she succeeded in saving her friends and the magic swordsman also, who was under the spell of the sol of the land. _

_Then she saw the three of them, each standing before an enormous mashin, before they go into another battle this time with the sol. After a long and hard battle they were finally able to defeat him and they proceeded inside a palace surrounded by ice. After breaking through the barrier, they came in, only to be greeted by a woman who attacked them. _

_After several talks, with tears in their eyes, they killed the woman and they came back again in Tokyo Tower, tears running down their cheeks as they drew each other tighter inside the hug. _

_Bit by bit, those recurring flashes that she had ever since high school came back again. _

_The white-haired man inside a battleship, a raven-haired man that looks so much like the former sol of Cephiro, a big guy in green clothing and small guy in almost similar clothing…_

_The battles with a huge robot, dragon and djiins…the reappearance of the middle aged woman dressed in black, a sinister looking woman, and a pink-haired woman who looks so much like her self. _

_Then, in the end, she saw herself floating in the sky, sword in hand, then before her very eyes she saw the barren land transform into a healthy, beautiful place as soon as light touched the land. Then, in one instant, she was transported back to the Tokyo Tower, the two girls beside her. _

_But this time, they were not crying or what. Just contented smiles and looks as they once again fell into a deep and comforting group hug…_

* * *

Hikaru woke up with a start. Her heart was beating furiously in her chest as she gasped for air. Beads of perspiration were already traveling down on the sides of her face. She rubbed her brow with the back of her hand and found that her hair was damp and felt that her blouse clung tightly at her back, wet from sweat.

She shakily stood up from her desk. Her feet tracked down the way towards the living room, and she sat at the sofa with a loud 'thump'.

_What was that dream all about? What does that mean?_ She asked her self. It was very different from all that flashes she had encountered from before, plus the appearance of Umi, Fuu, Lantis, Ferio and Ascot disturbed her very much.

_Again, why would they be appearing in my dream if I only met them this time? And from the looks of it, I'm sure that that dream sequence was from my junior high time or something. But when I think about my past…_

_I can't remember anything at all…_

* * *

Umi and Fuu stood outside the door of Hikaru's apartment. They've been there for more than ten minutes already, but still they hadn't ringed the doorbell or knocked on the door. They were sure that Hikaru was already inside because of the faint trail of tire tracks on the asphalt. Umi hovered near the door, while Fuu stood beside a plant, a few meters away from Umi.

"I really think you should ring the bell, Umi-san. Hikaru-chan won't be coming out of her apartment just all of a sudden, anyway," Fuu finally broke the silence between them.

Umi nodded and she raised her hand towards the doorbell. But Fuu caught sight of Umi's hand trembling a little bit.

_Ding-dong_.

They heard the shrill sound of the doorbell echo inside the house. The two women flinched, and then the door flew open, revealing Hikaru.

"Guys! This is a nice surprise! Oh, please come in! Where are my manners?" Hikaru greeted, making way for the two to some inside her house.

She ushered them on the sofa and quickly went to the kitchen to prepare them something to eat.

"Wasn't that a phrase that her mother used on us when we visited the folks last Saturday?" Umi wondered aloud.

Fuu nodded, stealing a glance at the kitchen door for any sign of the redhead before answering. "Hai. And it was quite uncanny that Hikaru-chan and her mother really are the same in so many things,"

Umi smiled. Just then Hikaru came back in the living room, a tray of food in her arms.

"Here you go, guys! Gomen for the soup and the hot chocolate, you should have warned me before hand that you two will attack me here in my house today!" she exclaimed, setting the tray at the coffee table in front of the two women.

Umi just grinned as she reached out for her chocolate, "Oh, we don't mind the food at all, Hikaru-chan. We just thought of visiting you here, so here we are!" Fuu answered, a wide grin on her face.

Hikaru shook her head as she reached out for her own cup of chocolate. "Okay. Whatever you two say,"

And the two ate their food in silence. Hikaru, on the other hand, has a thought in her mind.

_Should I tell them about my flashes? About my dream this afternoon? Should I tell them I've been dreaming about them way before I met them? Should I?_

She was pulled out of her reverie when Umi cleared her throat. She looked straight at Umi and found the blue-haired woman looking straight at her as well.

"What is it, Umi-chan? Do you want more chocolate?" she asked, preparing to stand up. Umi's hands shot out, and she grasped Hikaru's hands to keep the redhead from going.

Before Umi could utter a single word, Hikaru was drawn again in a familiar black surrounding--

_--Where she saw herself looking into Umi and Fuu's worried eyes, her whole body screaming in pain but her heart was, strangely, happy. She saw herself, Umi and Fuu in battle armor similar to the armor she'd seen when they were under the spell of the illusionist. --_

She tottered to her side, and Umi and Fuu caught her just in time before her head hit the floor.

"Hikaru! Daijobou desu ka!" Umi exclaimed. She and Fuu led Hikaru down on the sofa and they started fanning Hikaru's face with the magazine they found on top of the table. Sweat suddenly appeared on the redhead's brow, and although she wasn't trembling, she was visibly pale and shaken from her unknown ordeal.

Fuu sent Umi an unspoken message. _The flashes_, Fuu's eyes seemed to convey. Umi just nodded, and together they focused their attention back on the redhead.

"Doushita, Hikaru-chan? What happened just then?" was Fuu's milder inquiry. Hikaru shook her head and looked up at the two, attempting to smile.

"Nandemo nai, Fuu-chan, Umi-chan, hontou. I'm fine. Don't…worry about me…"

Umi shook her head. "Nothing's more unreliable as one of your 'I'm fines', Hikaru!" she retorted.

Hikaru shut her eyes tight. _I've heard that somewhere before! I'm sure of it!_ Her mind screeched. She gripped her pants tightly, feeling the soft fabric of her jeans in her clenched hands. _Iie! This can't be! I'm sure I've heard that from Umi-chan too! What the hell's going on here! Then the flashes…they really mean something from my past? From the past that I can't remember too well…? _Her mind continued to cry.

Meanwhile, Umi and Fuu were watching as different emotions passed through Hikaru's face. They exchanged another look before Fuu reached out and squeezed Hikaru's tensed hands. "Hikaru-chan…doushita? Don't you want to tell Umi-san and I what has been bothering your mind? Don't you want us to share your problems?" she asked quietly.

Hikaru stayed stiff even under Fuu's gentle hands. Finally, after a few anxious moments, Fuu felt Hikaru's hands loosened up a bit, and the redhead even turned her palm up so she was holding Fuu's hands.

The redhead uttered a deep sigh before slowly opening her eyes. Even though the tension was out of her body, Umi and Fuu still noticed that her eyes were clouded from heavy thinking. The hand that clasped Fuu's hand was slightly trembling, and Fuu gave Hikaru's hand another squeeze of reassurance.

"Guys…as much as I wanted to tell you everything…I can't. I…first and foremost, I should be the one to solve my problems first. And second…" she turned her head to the side to avoid looking at Umi and Fuu's face. "I don't want to drag you two, my precious friends, in a mess like this," she finished.

Umi and Fuu both stood up and enveloped Hikaru in a tight hug, as they heard the redhead sniffle a few times to keep her tears from flowing. Then Hikaru pulled from the hug and looked deep into Umi and Fuu's eyes.

"Gomen nasai for the bother I've caused you two, Umi-chan, Fuu-chan, demo daijoubu. You two don't have to worry about me at all," she said.

Umi and Fuu nodded albeit reluctantly. "If you need any help, don't hesitate to call us, okay? We're staying at a condominium near the college, near Lantis' house and just a few streets away from Ferio and Ascot's pad, so you can be sure that there will be back-ups in case you're in deep trouble. You got that?" Umi stated, looking mischievously at the redhead.

A small smile crept on Hikaru's mouth and before long; her face was turned up on a big grin. "Oh, sure, I got that, _Umi-sama_. So if the police suddenly just came on your condominium unit, looking for you two, don't be too shocked because that was all my doing. After all, you _insisted_ on helping me out if I'm in deep trouble, 'ne?" she answered back, a glint in her ruby eyes.

Umi lunged at her and tickled her on her sides, causing her to erupt in happy giggles that echoed throughout her apartment.

"Oh! Umi-chan! I was just joking!" she ducked under a pillow as Umi lunged for another tickle. "Stop it Umi-chan! I get tickled quite easily! Stop that! Fuu-chan, make her stop! Oh, please, make her stop!" Hikaru shrieked as she burst into laughter again.

Fuu just laughed at one corner of the sofa. She watched as Umi pounced on Hikaru with a throw pillow she grabbed on the one-sitter sofa. Hikaru's face was very flushed, and she was still laughing her heart out as Umi continued to tickle her at her sides.

No. Fuu made no move to stop Umi as the blue-haired woman assaulted the redhead with a pillow and a few tickles. She was having so much fun watching the two to stop them!

Finally, after Umi took notice that Hikaru seemed to be out of breath, she stopped her attack and just settled beside the still laughing Hikaru. She took a deep breath and looked at the redhead, who was slowly getting up from the depths of her sofa to arrange her disarrayed hair and ruined shirt.

"Umi-chan! That was very naughty of you! What would you do if I run out of breath! I thought I was going to die laughing back there!" Hikaru scolded, but her eyes where still dancing in laughter.

Then she turned to a grinning brunette and scolded her bespectacled friend as well, "And what about you, Fuu-chan? You didn't try anything to stop Umi-chan! If choked back there, it will be your fault too!"

Fuu widened her eyes as a sign of fake innocence, "Who, me? That's absurd, Hikaru-chan! I saw just a few moments ago how happy you are, so I made no move to stop Umi-san. I though you were enjoying it!"

Hikaru pouted, and threw a pillow at Fuu, which hit the latter square on the face, "Serves you right," she muttered, and before Umi could react, she was already grabbing the nearest pillow and threw it right at Umi's face as well, "And this is for you, my dear Umi-chan!"

The two stood up, and looking murderously at Hikaru, they both lunged at the terrified redhead.

"You'll pay for that big time, Hikaru-chan!" Fuu threatened, and they both aimed at Hikaru's waist and started tickling her once again. Her apartment was once again filled with her twinkling laughter followed by Umi and Fuu's giggles.

"Guys, this time, I know you're going to _kill_ me!"

* * *

Another school hour passed, and Lantis was walking slowly towards where his Harley-Davidson was parked. He was even whistling lightly as his hair was tossed from side to side by the gentle wind. When he reached his prized possession, he swung his long legs across the machine and gunned the engine. Slipping his head on his black helmet, he revved his motor and quickly sped away towards his apartment.

Upon reaching his house, he quickly parked his motorcycle beside his Honda Civic, and entered the house. He made a dash towards his room to change into his gym clothes before going down on the basement, where he had an assortment of all types of workout machines. He also had a complete set of dumbbells, ranging from 1 kilogram to 15 kilograms. He also had a table tennis court, and a billiards set. All in all, he was like living in a mini gymnasium. The only thing left was a basketball court, a lawn tennis court, and a bowling court.

He was down on his last exercise; his whole body covered in sweat, when he heard the doorbell rang. Glancing at the wall clock at the side of the table tennis court while reaching for his towel, he took note of the time: 6:15

_Who would visit me at this time of the day? Zagato-niisama? Or maybe some of my friends,_ he wondered as he made his way towards the door. When he opened it, he was taken aback to see who was standing outside.

"Anou, Lantis-chan, I hope I'm not being a bother to you but…" Hikaru started, but she trailed off and looked down at the pavement, her cheeks coloring.

Lantis opened the door wider to let Hikaru in. "Of course not. I'm just a little bit surprised that you would visit me here, considering that I haven't shown you my house. Please come in,"

Hikaru followed him inside, and continued to follow him as he proceeded towards the kitchen to fix something for her.

"Anou, you could wait for me at the living room while I prepare you something," he suggested uncertainly.

Hikaru smiled back, "Oh, I'm fine here, Lantis-chan. Besides, I didn't come here to have myself treated as a guest. For all I know, I'm disturbing you on something you're doing,"

Lantis chuckled as he poured coffee on his mug and tea on a glass, and then handed the glass to Hikaru as he made his way back to the basement. Hikaru followed him.

"I'm just on a daily exercise routine, that's all," Lantis answered, picking up a dumbbell and started his last round of exercise.

Hikaru smiled, and looked around the basement. When she spotted the table tennis court, she let a little squeal of delight and rushed towards it. This caught Lantis' attention and he turned his head to where the redhead was rushing, and a small smile crept again on his face.

_She really is something. At the age of 25, she still acts as a child sometimes,_ he mused over.

"You wanted to play?" he offered, standing up from the bench and setting his dumbbell down. Hikaru glanced up, and her face blushed. But thanks to the subtle light in the basement, Lantis didn't notice this.

_Oh. My. God. Would you look at that muscle? My, he's got firm biceps and thighs! Much firmer than Rei's! I wonder…_

_What would I feel if I'm in his arms…?_

She shook her head to clear those thoughts, and smiled at Lantis. "Sure! That would be great!" she answered.

She was expecting Lantis to go get the paddle and table tennis ball, but he just continued walking towards her and stopped when he was just an arm's length away. Hikaru sucked in her breath, as she looked deep in Lantis' eyes.

_It's bad enough that I'm fantasizing him even though we're miles apart, and its worse that I wanted him to kiss me now to satisfy this hunger he awoke in my being! And God! Why is he looking at me like that! _Hikaru silently wailed.

Lantis looked down at the redhead beauty in front of him: he took in the wide, innocent eyes, the small nose and the thin, seductive red lips. He felt his throat tighten as he fought for self-control. _Goodness! For over a month now, I've tried to conceal my feelings for her and be a good friend. But now…now that she's looking at me like that, the raw hunger and need in her eyes, I cannot ignore what I feel anymore,_ he thought, as he took one step closer to Hikaru and reached out for her.

His strong arms went down on her waist, and instead of pulling back, he felt Hikaru push herself closer to him. He closed his eyes, G_od! This is what I wanted to do from the very start that I saw her again!_

He opened his eyes again and gazed on Hikaru's sienna eyes, and found that there was a mysterious glint in his redhead's eyes. "I'm going to kiss you Hikaru, so please stop me will you still can, because I can't hold back now," he whispered huskily, grazing his lips on her forehead.

Hikaru sighed, and she closed her eyes. Instead of answering, she tipped her head up and caught Lantis' lips with her own. She heard Lantis groan before he answered the kiss. The touch of his lips against hers was enlightening and truly magical. She felt her world burst with colorful colors. His lips were warm and soft, and he was kissing her in a very tender manner that even her soul was touched. She felt his tongue trace the outline of her lips, before it pressed on her upper and lower lip. When she opened her mouth, he instantly plunged his tongue inside and explored the recesses of her mouth.

It was now her time to groan.

When Lantis heard Hikaru groan, he tightened his arms on her waist, pulling her closer to him for an even intimate hug. His one hand ran up and down her back. He felt her hands tighten on his neck, and he felt her tongue encircling his, which caused him to moan a little.

Then, Hikaru saw herself again, dressed in a robe, flying in the sky. People swarmed on a nearby castle, but she had her eyes focused on Lantis who was at the middle of the group. He was reaching one hand towards her, there was that kind, gentle smile on his face, and his eyes radiated overflowing love for her.

And then the pieces of her memory came back on her. The trip to Tokyo Tower, she, Umi and Fuu being summoned to Cephiro, they defeating their enemies and granting Princess Emeraude's wish, and then the three of them being transported back to Cephiro, their fight with the three invading countries, and finally…

Her meeting with Lantis, the first man that stole her heart, the heart that she carelessly left in Cephiro.

Tears sprung from her eyes so she shut her eyes tightly. _I remember them again! The flashes and images from before…they all made sense to me now!_ Her mind screamed.

Gradually, their kiss lightened, until they pulled away slowly to gasp for air. But still, their foreheads were on on each other, and they had their eyes closed, savoring this very first intimacy that occurred between them.

Lantis sighed, and he opened his eyes. He still has his arms around Hikaru's waist, but it was already loose enough for them to look in each other's face closely. But when Hikaru opened her eyes, Lantis saw an emotion that never had he seen from her.

"Hikaru…"

Hikaru silenced him by pressing her lips again on his, pushing the words down on his chest. After that, she looked up on him again and this time, she was unable to hold back her tears.

"Oh Lantis…I feel so horrible…" she started, but Lantis cut her off.

"Don't be, Hikaru. This feeling that we feel for each other, there is no way that we could suppress our feelings. Please, don't tell me that you're already regretting that we kissed," he said, wiping the tears that fell from her ruby eyes.

Hikaru smiled a little, "That's not what I'm talking about, you baka! Oh well, how can I say that I already remember _everything_! As in _everything _and _anything_ about Cephiro, about Umi, Fuu, Ferio, Ascot, Caldina, Lafarga, Clef, Presea, Mokona, Princess Emeraude, High Priest Zagato and you, everything and anything there is to remember about you all my friends and beloved from Cephiro," she answered, a shine on her eyes.

Lantis looked down at her, agape, "B-but…how?" he sputtered.

Hikaru shrugged and then pulled Lantis to her for another hug, "I don't care, and I don't want to know. All I know is that I remember you again, and that's it,"

Lantis hugged her back, tighter, and whispered in her ear, "I'm just glad that you've got your memory back again, my Hikaru. I don't think I will stand another day without you in my arms like this,"

Hikaru nodded. "But what about Rei?" she asked hesitantly.

Lantis kissed the top of her head before replying. "We'll tell him together. We'll explain everything to him and let him understand that it is truly _us_ that exist. That our love came when you were still in your junior high school year, that your memory being washed away, was the reason we got separated. We'll explain everything to him, and hope that he understands us,"

Once again, Hikaru nodded. "I have to face 'Tousan and Okaasan too, to let them know that--" then her eyes clouded and her body tensed.

Lantis felt it, and he pulled back to look Hikaru at the eyes, "Doushita, Hikaru? You're suddenly all tensed up,"

""Tousan…"

"What…?"

"I'm going to face him now,"


	9. Chapter 9: The Moment of Truth

**NOTES:** First off – I am so sorry for the long delay. It isn't writer's block, believe me. I have the whole story outlined even before I started writing it…but it just took me longer to write the thoughts because of a very busy and hectic schedule for the last fourteen months and so. I had been busy with internship, thesis papers, comprehensive exams, graduation and now review classes. Oh yes, I AM ALREADY A GRADUATE! Yay! So you all see why I've not been able to update as soon as we all want me to…anyways, enough with the ranting…

This will be the second to the last chapter…hehehe… and I'm so sorry for the short chapter, too!

Much thanks to all those who reviewed the last chapter (chap 8) but I wanted to mention one specifically…

Hey Leo's Starlight! I like your Username, for the very simple reason that I'm a Leo. Hahaha! Anyway, I wanted to thank you for your thoughtfulness. Yes, I already have my Angelic Layer DVD's, thanks for asking. It just touched me that you remembered to ask if I got them already or not...thanks again, pal.

**DISCLAIMER: **MKR still doesn't belong to me…yeah, big news, huh? Last time I checked, they're still CLAMP's property.

**Chapter 9: THE MOMENT OF TRUTH**

Lantis drove the car in silence. At his side was a sulking redhead, who has her face turned sideward, her breath fanning the window, making hazy, white fog appear on the window every now and then. Lantis noted that she has a tight grip on her black skirt, that her knuckles were almost white. He also took notice of her numerous sighs and deep breaths, and the occasional shaking of her head.

Obviously, his girlfriend was in a deep thought.

When they reached the gates of the Imperial Palace, Hikaru finally turned at him, "Our dojo is by that--"

"I know. We've been here the weekend before," he cut off, flashing the startled redhead a grin.

Hikaru blinked, and she turned her head to the road, then back to Lantis' smiling face, "Oh. But why? Are you with Umi and Fuu?" she asked.

Lantis nodded. "Umi, Fuu, Ascot and Ferio. We were so sure that you really _are_ the Shidou Hikaru we knew of nine years ago, but we have to make sure. So we went to your house and drilled your parents of questions about you. And well, they did enlightened us, and confirmed that you _are_ the Shidou Hikaru that has become our friend and we lost a long time ago," he answered, a glow of sadness in his violet orbs.

Hikaru's heart tightened, and she reached up to grip his hand that was on the steering wheel, "Gomen nasai for the pain I've caused you, ai. It must have been hell for you to look for me all over Tokyo and not find me here, much more disappoint you on seeing me here, waiting for you, but then you'd find out from my best friends that I'm missing. Gomen, Lantis-kun…"

Lantis glanced at her again as he rounded the corner beside the Imperial Palace. "You were worth all the pain and longing, koishii. And I'm just happy that you're here again beside me, with your memory of the past still intact," he answered, smiling tenderly at her.

Hikaru let her hand linger on his hand for a while, and then pulled back her hand when he had to change gears. After a comfortable silence, they finally parked outside the Shidou house. Lantis and Hikaru went out of the car.

Hikaru swept her eyes over the estate. Tears formed on her eyes as she pushed open the wooden gates and walked on the path towards the front door. Her eyes traveled the length of the garden, _her_ garden, and settled on the big, flowering sakura tree at the other end of the perimeter. Her face twitched up and her eyes crinkled, narrowing a little bit. She took in the healthy sight of her orchids, her Bermuda grass, her dandelions, her roses, her santans, and everything that she planted with great care and love in her little sanctuary.

She turned her head at her back and her eyes instantly met violet ones. "I really missed this place, Lantis. Very much," she murmured, eyes sparkling.

Lantis smiled and made his way towards her side, then pulled her to him and squeezed her tight, sending her his silent message.

Hikaru smiled, and then made the rest of the way towards the house. She tapped on the rice paper doors, and seconds later she came face-to-face with her mother.

"Hikaru-chan! Lantis-kun! Come inside!" her mother gushed, smiling brightly at them. When they were safely behind the doors, Hajime called inside the house.

"Haido-chan! Hikaru-chan and Lantis-kun are here!" then she turned to the two and hugged Hikaru tight. "We missed you so much, my little baby. It's been quite a while since we saw you! And my! How you've grown!" she finished, looking critically at her only daughter with love.

Hikaru groaned while her cheeks reddened the same shade as her hair. "Okaasan! You're embarrassing me!" she protested.

Hajime just laughed and pulled her daughter for another hug. "Oh, I'm just teasing. It's so good to see you again, Hikaru-chan. And you too, Lantis-kun, it's nice to see you too. Where are your friends?"

Lantis offered a small smile at the woman; "They're at Kawasaki, on the college. Hikaru and I decided to take the day off and went here for some…questions," he answered carefully.

Hajime nodded. Just then, Haido peered inside the room, and upon seeing Hikaru he rushed forward and gave her daughter her third hug for that day. "I missed you so, Hikaru-chan. It's good that you paid us a visit here, and with Lantis-kun," he said, acknowledging the young man's presence with a smile.

Hikaru smiled and kissed her father at the forehead. "I missed you as well, 'tousan,"

Hajime and Haido settled down on the mat, Hikaru and Lantis following suit. "So I guess you're here for answers, Hikaru-chan, now that I see you've got your memories back," Haido started.

Hikaru nodded. Her eyes turned grave, and she looked at her father straight and unblinking. "I only wanted to know why, 'tousan, why rob me off my memories, and how,"

"We wanted you to live without the pain and suffering of having known that I have a mistress, much more with the knowledge that I chose my mistress over you, my true and loving family. Plus, Satoru suggested that we should do immediate actions for you to not remember the painful memory that led you to ran away and have that accident. So when the psychiatrist at Sapporo suggested to us that you could be hypnotized and have a new memory, we talked over it for a week. Your brothers agreed to it, so we pushed through with the session. And that was the start of the new life of Shidou Hikaru," her father explained.

Then he turned to Hikaru and held her hand, "We just wanted the best for you, Hikaru-chan, always. That's why we proceeded with the hypnotizing process. We wanted to give you a fresh start, a clean life. And we thought we're doing what's best for you, until he," he said, gesturing to Lantis who was silently listening, "Came here with your friends, asking questions. Your mother and I realized that we robbed you of the opportunity to be with the persons that you consider your second family, to be happy with them, especially to be happy with the man that you truly love," he finished, looking meaningfully at Hikaru and Lantis' hands intertwined.

Hikaru and Lantis blushed. Hikaru then cleared her throat and looked at her father, "What happened to Michiro-san, 'tousan? If you chose her over us, why are you still here with us?" she asked, almost bitterly. She felt Lantis squeeze her hand for support, and she squeezed back with the same passion.

Haido cleared his throat; "After we learned that you were missing, I immediately decided that nothing and no one could keep me away from this family, the family that I loved and nurtured so much. I instantly cut off all connections with Michiro, and I told her that I love this family more than I love her, and it's a shame that I only realized that after you made such harsh decisions. The fact that my youngest, kindest and most passionate child ran away shook me like nothing else before. It made me worried and sick to my stomach and I kept beating myself up for being so insensitive and careless in deciding. I love this family more than anything else, and maybe Michiro clouded that feeling when she entered my life, but like the light that is your name, you lighted up my darkened mind and made me see that this family is important to me, in fact, more important than my life,"

Hikaru had tears in her eyes as she looked at her father and mother then back to her father, who also had tears in his eyes, "Honestly 'tousan, I don't know what to say. I wanted to get angry but I know that that will not change anything. In fact, I should be thankful of what you did, for I know that you only did it because you love me very much and wouldn't want me to get hurt once I recover my memories. Also, I wanted to thank you because now that I have my memories back again, I realized that my friends, especially Lantis, mean so much to me. Back then, I only felt that strong connection towards Umi-chan and Fuu-chan, but now, after having missed them for more that nine years of my life, I realized how much they truly mean to me, how much I care for them, how much I treasure them,"

She then looked deep into Lantis' eyes and smiled up at him, her hands tightening their grip on Lantis'. "And I wouldn't realize that there is no one else in this world who could make me happy and contented the way that Lantis does."

* * *

They spent the night at Hikaru's house, where Lantis slept in one of the guest rooms, the one that was beside Hikaru's room. The next morning, the people at the Shidou Dojo indulged in a tasty breakfast that Hajime prepared. Haido showed Lantis his favorite liquor, and then Hikaru and Lantis spent the afternoon looking through the photo albums. 

"'Ne, Hikaru, you really look cute here," Lantis teased, pointing at Hikaru's picture when she was five years old, her fiery red hair in disarray, laughing while a grinning Masaru ran behind her.

Hikaru smiled as she rested her chin on Lantis' shoulder, "Masaru-niichan took me and Kakeru-niichan on the park to have fun. When we went by the lake, I pushed him on it, and he chased me all throughout the park and threw me at the lake as well. It was very funny; a policeman went to us and reprimanded Masaru-niichan that people are not allowed to dive in the park. Ever since then, we never returned nor passed by that park. It was really hilarious," she related.

Lantis turned on a few more pages and stopped at a photo of her, Umi and Fuu taken at the dojo, all three of them dressed in traditional kendo suit.

Lantis pointed at the photo and looked at Hikaru, who was grinning behind him. "And when was this taken?" he asked.

"A few days after we returned from Cephiro the second time. It was my idea that the three of us teach each other of the martial arts that we knew. It was I who taught Umi and Fuu first of kendo," she answered. She turned on the next page and pointed on a picture of the three of them again, this time attired in fencing suit. "Then after a month, when I finished my basic kendo lessons at them, Umi taught me and Fuu of fencing. It was really fun because fencing was somewhat alike in kendo in the principles and the stuff, but also completely different, and it matched the skills of a swordsman," then she pointed at the photo on the following page. "This was how we looked like when it was now Fuu's turn to teach me and Umi archery. We had our bows and arrows, and we practiced at the field near Fuu's school. Out of the two sports that my friends love, I must say that fencing was the easier sport because I'm a swordswoman as well, but I also enjoyed archery very much, because it was all too new for me. All in all, the three of us enjoyed the lessons very much, and after that we became closer to each other,"

After that memory trip, Hikaru and Lantis decided that they should head back to Kawasaki. After so many good byes and reminders, hugs and kisses, the older Shidous finally let Hikaru and Lantis go.

The trip back to Kawasaki was comforting. The whole time they were on the road, they had their hands locked tightly around each other's. Except when Lantis needed to change gears, they never let go of the other's hand. It was as if overnight, their closeness was like before, in fact, even more.

And they were really happy of this long-lost happiness that they found at each other's company again. And now that they're back to Kawasaki, Hikaru have to face another person from her past.

Rei.

* * *

Hikaru stood tentatively outside Rei's apartment at the outskirts of Kawasaki, near Yokohama. She insisted on Lantis that she must face Rei alone because she can explain better alone. So with her heart thundering in her chest, she knocked on the door and waited for Rei to open the door. 

Several seconds passed and Rei stood in front of the open door. He looked surprised to see her, but just the same he ushered her inside and led her to a sofa.

She looked around his apartment. It was a big mess; magazines and newspapers were sprawled across the coffee table; his books on herbal and medicinal plants were lying on top of a stack of dirty clothes at one corner of the living room; at the other end were piles of cartons and bags, and finally, the walls were bare of any painting or pictures that she knew Rei loved to hang.

"What happened here?" she asked quietly, looking at Rei. Rei sighed and looked around his apartment, a certain glow of sadness in the depths of his eyes.

"I'm leaving tomorrow for Batangas, a province in the Philippines, where my colleagues found out a very interesting herbal plant known as the _digitalis_. They said that _glycoside_ can be extracted from it, and it can be very useful to heart ailments as well. So…my team called me up to head over to Batangas right away and take a look," he started, then gave her a half smile, "This might be the big break we've all been looking for. There has been no scientific explanation on the actions of this plant, and some articles even said that _digitalis_ is a poisonous drug, which can lead to death and convulsion. But if we prove them wrong…then this is the break that we're looking for," he finished, not quite meeting Hikaru's eyes.

Hikaru has a frown on her face, and her eyes did not leave Rei's face for even a single second. Something is definitely wrong here…"But why tell me only now?"

Rei cleared his throat, "Because I don't have much time," he simply said, "And I know you're busy with something else," he added meaningfully.

Finally, the pieces fell together, and she stood up from her seat and looked straight at him. "So, you knew about my amnesia?" she asked.

Rei turned his body away from her and started to walk away. She grabbed his arm and forced him to look at her straight, "Answer me Rei, damn it!" she exclaimed.

Rei closed his eyes shut before turning to her, "Yes! I knew all about it! Your brothers told me about it, everything! But I still accepted it whole-heartedly, because I love you so much that nothing else matters but my feelings for you! I took my chances in getting you to love me back, and I succeeded. But then, you saw your friends from before and the first man that you love. Your father told me so," he confessed heatedly, his fist clenched at his sides, his body rigid with tension and pain.

"And you didn't tell me about it! How could you!" she asked back.

"Because—I love you so much that I wanted you all to myself. I was afraid that you'd leave me once you remember everything," then he glanced at her and laughed bitterly, "But then again, you got your memory back again, and you're still going to leave me for _him_," he said. He finally opened his eyes and looked tearfully at her.

"I'm not going to beg you to come back to me, because I know that that is wrong and selfish of me. 'Cause I know that in your heart, it's still _him _and not me, always. I just interfered, and your parents just washed away _his _memories, but _his _space in your heart never left, even through the years that you're with me and away from him. I always felt that the love you're giving me lacks something, and I know that that lacks satisfaction and peace, those two vital elements of a relationship that only _he_ can give you," he continued, looking her in the eyes.

"Hikaru…this is really hard for me, but because I love you and I want nothing but your happiness, I'm going to set you free once and for all. You don't have to explain, you don't have to say you're sorry. That will only make me hurt more. Just…promise me one thing…"

She did no speak. She did not trust her voice to be as strong as it is. Instead, she just waited for him to continue.

"I want you to promise that you're going to be happy with him, that you won't let yourself be separated from him like before. And could you tell me something?"

Hikaru nodded, urging him to go on as she saw the hesitation in his eyes.

"Did you--did you loved me the whole time that we were together?" he asked softly, almost as if he was afraid to even utter the question.

Her heart whimpered at his helpless sight. She closed the gap between them and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him close.

"Oh, Rei. Of course I've loved you! After all, you were my first boyfriend! My first official boyfriend! How could you think such things?" she wailed.

She felt Rei's arms around her waist, and he tightened the hug on her. "Domo arigatou gozaimasou, Hikaru, and aishiteru. Forever." He said solemnly. Then he pulled back from the hug and looked down at her, "Now, scoot! I have to prepare for my departure tomorrow! And one more thing, I don't want to see you there, okay? I don't want tearful goodbyes and everything," he said, a light now in his eyes.

She laughed. But before she headed for the door, she turned to Rei again, gave him another hug and then a brief kiss on the cheek. "Arigatou as well, Rei. Take care. I'll never forget you,"

"Forever,"


	10. Chapter 10: A Happy Ending

**NOTES:** Final chappie, at last! Should this make me feel happy or sad…?

Anyway, I wanted to thank everyone who bothered to read this little fic of mine. Hehehe…

**Shinomu**

**taiyoukai-chan**

**kawaiiseeker987**

**someone who calls him Lanti…**

**Piscean Bard**

**kouga20191**

**Hikaru Loves Lantis**

**Hikaru Of Dreams**

**crazygirl18**

**Iarly **– hehehe…I haven't been able to update the C2 archive…sorry.

**juzblue**

**Hikaru no hikari**

**Murakisdoll**

**deadgirl**

**Krylancelo**

**pokemongirl2523**

**merissala**

**ArcherKagome**

**Orange-Light**

**Crimson Reality**

**syvonair** – hiya, syv! Haven't read your story yet…but I'll do it this weekend, promise!

**The Myth Keeper**

**Sora desu**

**kishfan**

**Heart's Door**

**Oona Ooji**

**some1**

**Leo's Starlight**

**Ja ne, Kat**

**karu-14**

Thank you so much for the reviews. All of you just made my day. It was so much fun doing the fic with all of you praising me and urging me to update soon, so I'm really sorry that it took me so long to finish a ten-chapter fic. But anyway, I do hope from the bottom of my heart that you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this and thinking about this and dreaming about this...hahaha!

**DISCLAIMER**: For the last time…MKR's not mine. But I wish it was. Hehehe…

**Chapter 10: A HAPPY ENDING**

Hikaru and Lantis sat next to each other on a park bench later that afternoon, a comfortable silence hanging in the air.

The redhead had her eyes closed, savoring the gentle caress of the winter air. Beside her, Lantis watched with fascination the calmness that he could see in Hikaru's face.

Finally, after ten minutes of silence, Hikaru turned to Lantis and smiled up at him.

"How are you feeling today?" she asked brightly.

Lantis smiled, and gave Hikaru a quick hug before answering. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Nandemo nai, Lantis-chan." she answered quickly. "Yokatta," she added.

Another silence. Lantis wanted to ask Hikaru how her talk with Rei turned up, but he wanted to come the initiative from her.

And he didn't have to wait to long.

Without looking at him, Hikaru sighed and smiled again, "We talked this afternoon. He was already going back to the Philippines again, at Batangas to be exact, to study about those herbal plants again. And I guess this time, it's for good. He already knows about my amnesia, and he's setting me free," she related.

He turned to her and grabbed her hand, "Is that true?"

Hikaru nodded. Lantis pulled her to him and they shared another hug. "Hontou ni? Did he have any hard feelings?"

"I guess not. Rei's not the type of guy who holds a grudge. After all, he already had me for four years and was even an accomplice to a lie. I guess this is his way of saying he loves me, by setting me free. And I guess I should be thankful that he's prepared, and going to a new country to start all over again," she said.

Lantis tightened his hug, and she returned the intensity just the same, "I'm glad. I'm very glad," was all he could manage to say.

Hikaru nodded. When they pulled from each other they stared at the orange-tinged horizon; the blue firmament; the flock of birds; the groups of white cloud, everything that made the twilight sky seem alive. And their locked hands made the sunset even more beautiful and enchanting.

Hikaru smiled as she settled deeper into the bench, her shoulders touching Lantis'. She stole a quick look at him and her smile deepened even more. She sighed a contented sigh and looked back at the sky. _Am I one lucky girl or what?_ She mused.

She got her memories back, and best of all Lantis was still here, waiting for her, loving her.

What more could she ask for?

* * *

"So, when are the wedding bells?" Umi asked teasingly.

She, Hikaru and Fuu were in the redhead's apartment, having a sort of a 'Welcome-back-home' party for the redhead, just the three of them, to catch up on the lost time. Umi and Fuu were preparing foods, while Hikaru hovered near the refrigerator, unable to help her friends in the cooking department.

Hikaru visibly blushed, and she gave the cerulean-eyed beauty a death glare. "For your information, Umi-chan, you are in no position at all in asking me on when Lantis and I would marry. For Kami's sake we are only 25 years old! That's still too early to settle down! And besides," she added, "I'm still having too much fun on our relationship as of now that marriage would seem out of…sync, you know what I mean?"

Fuu nodded as Umi stirred her vegetable salad. "I know what you mean. Even if I love Ferio and all, I still would like to keep in this 'boyfriend-girlfriend' relationship, mainly because I'm still not yet ready to become 'Mrs. Fujuiwara'. And the thought of marriage scares me a little!" Fuu confessed.

Umi nodded too, "Yeah, same here. I'm still having so much fun in being a single, but committed, and I would not appreciate it if Ascot would suddenly ask me to marry him right now!" Umi agreed. Then she turned curious eyes to the redhead and raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

"But what if Lantis ask you to marry him _now_?" she inquired.

Hikaru shrugged. "I guess I'll say no," she answered. She was about to add more when the doorbell rang. She glanced at her best friends who suddenly stopped at what they were doing.

"Does anybody among you expect a visitor?" she asked.

Umi and Fuu let out a scandalized chuckle, "Hikaru-chan, whose house is this?" Fuu asked incredulously.

Hikaru scowled. "I was just asking, because I'm not expecting someone too!" she muttered under her breath. But she was already out of the kitchen so Umi and Fuu did not hear what she said. Instead, she marched up to the door and opened it, only to see her handsome boyfriend standing at the doorsteps of her apartment, roses in his hands.

Lantis smiled at her and gave her a kiss at the cheek. "Konnichiwa Hikaru," he greeted, handing the roses to her.

She accepted it without further words, kissed him back on his cheeks before letting him in, and made him follow her to the kitchen, where her best friends already finished preparing their food.

"Konnichiwa girls," Lantis greeted.

Umi and Fuu replied by looking mischievously at the flowers in Hikaru's hands, on Hikaru's face, then on Lantis'.

"Looks like you're proposing to her, huh," Umi smirked.

Hikaru's face colored again, and she shot Umi the blue-haired's second death glare for the day. However, Lantis only smiled enigmatically.

"Umi-chan! I could really kill you!" Hikaru growled, but Umi just grinned and winked at Fuu and Lantis. She shook her head then smiled, and looked for a vase where she can put the flowers in. However, Lantis' hand stopped her, and he forced her into looking at him.

When she turned to him, he quickly knelt down in front of her, and pulled a red velvet box from his back pocket. Her heart immediately thundered inside her chest, and she felt that she couldn't breathe properly.

_He's going to propose to me now! _Her mind screamed.

Lantis cleared his throat, and then spoke in his most solemn voice that Hikaru only heard today.

"This may appeal that I'm hurrying you, but I can't wait any longer into making you mine and mine alone. Shidou Hikaru, will you make me very happy into accepting my humble marriage proposal to you? Right now? Right at this very kitchen, in front of your best friends?"

Hikaru's mind swirled. She couldn't find her voice. With emotions building up inside her, all she could do was nod, and then kneel down and place her arms around Lantis' neck for a deep kiss. Lantis stood up a little, and he hugged Hikaru tight before they broke apart from their kiss.

Umi and Fuu stayed behind, and when the two women saw that the couple was already back to Earth, Umi cleared her throat.

"You were saying, Hikaru? That you'd not marry Lantis because you two were still too young?" she smirked.

Hikaru only smiled at her friend and took Lantis' hands into her own, "You'll never know what hit you once Ascot asks you to marry him, Umi-chan, you'll never know. And once he pop the question, you'll have nothing else in your mind but to accept his proposal and be his wife the soonest time possible," then she looked at the grinning Fuu, "The same goes for you too, my brunette friend, the same goes for you…"

_**THE END**_

**ENDING NOTES: **Wahhh! It's already finished! I don't know what to feel: happy or sad or depressed or what!

But one thing's for sure! I had fun doing this fic! Because this is original and I thought very hard for the plot!

Oh, and that herbal plant, _digitalis,_ that Rei was talking about really do exist. Only, there was already a scientific explanation on the effects and actions of that herbal plant, and it was already used as an alternative medicine for people suffering from heart disease. But as it is helpful, it can also be fatal if given in excessive dosage. A few grams might kill the patient, starting from convulsion then death. So there must be an awful lot of caution in taking this medicine.

Ja ne!

**hikaru29**

peace, man!

(.)-(.)


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